Delayed by a dispute over the release of a specific hostage, an agreement has been reached to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

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Qatar’s prime minister on Wednesday announced a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, pausing the devastating 15-month war in Gaza and clearing the way for dozens of Israeli hostages to go home.

Under the terms of the agreement, a ceasefire will go into effect on January 19, temporarily halting military operations in Gaza - Click on the link for more.

Qatar, the mediating country in negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release between Israel and the Islamic group Hamas, says the parties are at the "closest point" they have been in the past months to reaching an agreement.

Israel and Hamas agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

A delegation from Palestinian group Hamas arrived in Cairo on Monday to discuss the implementation of ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, the group said in a statement. (Reporting by Ali Sawafta, Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din,

NBC News' Raf Sanchez reports on the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after a crisis over the weekend threatened to unravel the peace deal with a delay from Israel in allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in the north of Gaza.