Israel Pulls Back Troops As Gaza Ceasefire Takes Effect

The Israeli military has claimed to partially withdraw its troops from parts of Gaza after the ceasefire agreement came into effect on Friday morning. The military have pulled back to an agreed position, as per the proposal, but still occupy half of the strip, BBC reported.

The United States envoy Steve Witkoff said that the military’s withdrawal has started a 72-hour countdown for Hamas to release all remaining Israeli hostages. The deal entails Hamas to  release all Israeli hostages - including 20 who are believed to be alive, and up to 28 hostages' remains by 12:00 local time (14:30 IST) on Monday.

Israel is also set to release around 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails. Israeli army radio said 100 would be released into the West Bank and five to East Jerusalem, while more are expected to be deported.

Additionally, 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained should also be released.

In a statement on social media, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops "began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines" from 12:00 local time.

"IDF troops in the Southern Command are deployed in the area and will continue to remove any immediate threat," the statement added.

According to reports, Palestinians who had fled northern Gaza due to heavy bombardments by the Israeli military in recent months, were seen walking back to the area. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address he was "fulfilling" the promise to bring back all the hostages, BBC reported. 

He added Israeli troops were still "surrounding Hamas from every direction", adding the next stages of Trump's plan are that "Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarised". 

Hamas, however, has not yet agreed to the disarmament. Trump’s 20-point ceasefire does not include Hamas in the future plans for Palestine.

The US has also deployed 200 US troops to Israel to help monitor the ceasefire.