Israel says cease-fire has begun, troops start withdrawing from parts of Gaza

CAIRO—The Israeli military said Friday a cease-fire in Gaza went into effect at noon local time, setting the stage for the release of the remaining hostages and an influx of humanitarian aid into the territory.

Israeli troops on Friday morning began withdrawing from parts of the Gaza Strip as part of the cease-fire deal, Israeli and Arab officials said. Israel’s government approved the agreement overnight local time, which calls on Israeli forces to pull back to a line marked in yellow on a map. Hamas said it would begin deploying internal security forces in the areas from where the Israeli forces withdraw.

The Israeli troop withdrawal sets up the cease-fire and starts a 72-hour countdown for the release of the hostages, mediators say.

Officials involved in the negotiations said final details are still being smoothed out between Israel and Hamas in Egypt, including the precise demarcation of the yellow line, the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and control of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

Israeli hospitals and the Israeli military are preparing to receive the living hostages, relying on the experience they have accumulated from previous exchanges of prisoners-for-hostages since the start of the war.

Aid groups are also preparing for Israel to open up border crossings so they could begin flooding Gaza with desperately needed food and medicine. Some aid trucks have been entering the enclave in recent months, though in much lower numbers than what is needed.

Though celebrations erupted in both Gaza and Tel Aviv, mediators and many civilians on both sides are holding their breath to see if the cease-fire will hold. Smoke billowing in the air could be seen on live feeds from Gaza on Friday morning.

Palestinians in Gaza are worried that a breakdown in the deal will lead to a resumption of strikes, as has happened twice before. And Israeli hostage families anxiously await to see their captive relatives return after a months-long struggle in the streets and lobbying world leaders to their cause.

Some Gazans posted online about explosions being heard on Friday morning. An Israeli official said that troops are blowing up some of their own equipment and infrastructure as they pull out. The Israeli military struck northern Gaza on Thursday night just before the deal passed the government’s vote, saying militants had posed a danger to troops.

The deal, which President Trump announced from the White House on Wednesday, promises to close a wound opened by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage. About 20 remaining hostages are believed to be alive in Gaza, in addition to the bodies of around 28 others.

The deal will bring the first significant pause in fighting since March, giving momentum to the effort to end a two-year war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.

The U.S. administration hopes it will also be the first step toward a longer-term settlement that will involve talks over the disarmament of Hamas and the formation of an interim government to oversee Gaza.

U.S. Central Command will be leading an international stabilization force and set up a civil-military coordination center that could include Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, a senior U.S. official said.

U.S. troops began to arrive in Israel on Thursday, the first of about 200 being sent to support the cease-fire in Gaza as part of an international team, according to U.S. officials.

The troops will help monitor the implementation of the cease-fire and eventual transition to a civilian government, according to a U.S. official. They will also help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.