Ceasefire between Israel and Hamas goes into effect

JERUSALEM: The Gaza ceasefire agreement went into effect at midday local time on Friday (Oct 10), said the Israeli military.

At 12pm (9am GMT), Israel Defense Forces troops "began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of hostages", the Israeli military said.

The army also said that 11 prisoners from Hamas will be released instead of 11 prisoners affiliated with Fatah as part of the Gaza agreement, saying there had been a "last-minute" change in those who would be freed.

Israel's government ratified the ceasefire in the early hours of Friday, clearing the way to suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours and free Israeli hostages held there within 72 hours after that.

Israeli troops had earlier begun pulling back from some parts of Gaza on Friday under a ceasefire deal with Hamas, and some residents returned to shattered neighbourhoods amid confusion over when hostilities will be suspended after two years of warfare.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said that Israeli forces will remain in Gaza to exert pressure on Hamas until the group disarms.

He also said that all hostages will return in the coming days.

"Thank God my house is still standing," said Ismail Zayda, 40, in the Sheikh Radwan area in Gaza City. "But the place is destroyed, my neighbours' houses are destroyed, entire districts have gone."

"Is it over? They said it is. Why does no one come out and tell us whether there is a ceasefire and we can stop being afraid?"

The first phase of United States President Donald Trump's initiative to end the two-year war in Gaza calls for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and the start of a withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Qatar's prime minister, a key mediator in the conflict, said on Friday that the success of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement was a collective responsibility.

"The success of this phase is a collective responsibility to ensure that the agreement is implemented and to achieve peace and stability," said Qatari Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in a statement on X.

ISRAELI FORCES PULL OUT OF POSITIONS IN CENTRE, SOUTH

"The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased," Netanyahu's English-language X account said.

In Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, some Israeli troops pulled back from the eastern area near the border, but tank shelling was heard, according to residents in contact with Reuters.

In Nusseirat camp in the centre of the enclave, some Israeli soldiers dismantled their position and headed east towards the Israeli border, but other troops remained in the area after gunfire was heard in the early hours of Friday.

Israeli forces pulled out from the road along the Mediterranean coast into Gaza City, where hundreds of people had gathered, hoping to return to the enclave's main urban centre, which has been under Israeli assault for the past month.

Gunfire nearby made many reluctant to move, and only a few were attempting to cross on foot, residents said.

Rescue workers in Gaza City began missions in areas they had been unable to reach before. Medics said at least 10 bodies were recovered from previous strikes.

HAMAS GAZA LEADER SAYS HE HAS RECEIVED GUARANTEES WAR IS OVER

The war has deepened Israel's international isolation and upended the Middle East, spreading into a regional conflict that drew in Iran, Yemen and Lebanon. It also tested the US-Israeli relationship, with Trump seeming to lose patience with Netanyahu and pressuring him to reach a deal.

Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced, the biggest step yet to end two years of war in which over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and return the last hostages seized by Hamas in the deadly attacks that provoked it.

Hamas' exiled Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said he had received guarantees from the United States and other mediators that the war was over.

Twenty Israeli hostages are still believed to be alive in Gaza, while 26 are presumed dead and the fate of two is unknown. Hamas has indicated that recovering the bodies of the dead may take longer than releasing those who are alive.

Once the agreement is operating, trucks carrying food and medical aid will surge into Gaza to help civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom have been sheltering in tents after Israeli forces destroyed their homes and razed entire cities to dust.

HURDLES REMAIN

The accord, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt the war.

Much could still go wrong. Further steps in Trump's 20-point plan have yet to be agreed upon. Those include how the demolished Gaza Strip is to be ruled when the fighting ends, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has so far rejected Israel's demands that it disarm.

Netanyahu also faces scepticism from within his governing coalition, as many have long opposed any deal with Hamas.

Trump said he would head to the region on Sunday, possibly to attend a signing ceremony in Egypt. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana invited him to address the Israeli parliament. The deal received support from Arab and Western countries and was widely portrayed as a major diplomatic achievement for Trump.

The United States will deploy 200 troops as part of a joint task force for Gaza stability, with no Americans on the ground in the Palestinian enclave, two senior US officials said on Thursday.

The officials, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the 200 would be a core part of a task force that would include Egyptians, Qataris, Turks and probably Emiratis.

More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led militants stormed through Israeli towns and a music festival on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages.