Jerusalem/Cairo, October 10, 2025: Thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning to their devastated neighbourhoods on Friday after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect, prompting Israeli troops to withdraw from parts of the Gaza Strip.
Long columns of Gazans streamed north through clouds of dust toward Gaza City — the enclave’s largest urban centre — which had endured one of the fiercest Israeli assaults of the two-year war.
“Thank God my house is still standing,” said 40-year-old Ismail Zayda from the Sheikh Radwan area. “But everything around it is destroyed — my neighbours’ houses are gone, whole districts wiped out.”
According to the Israeli military, the ceasefire was activated at noon local time (0900 GMT). The Israeli government ratified the agreement in the early hours of Friday, paving the way for a phased withdrawal of troops and a full suspension of hostilities within 24 hours.
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas will release 20 living Israeli hostages within 72 hours, while Israel is set to free 250 Palestinians serving long sentences and 1,700 others detained in Gaza during the war.
Once the agreement is in motion, hundreds of aid trucks carrying food and medical supplies will begin entering Gaza — a critical lifeline for hundreds of thousands of civilians who have spent months sheltering in tents amid the ruins of their homes.
The truce represents the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the two-year conflict. It calls for Israel to withdraw from major urban areas in Gaza while maintaining control over roughly half of the enclave’s territory.
In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops would remain in certain areas to ensure Gaza’s “demilitarisation” and Hamas’s eventual disarmament.
“If this can be achieved the easy way, that will be good,” he said. “If not, it will be achieved the hard way.”
In the southern city of Khan Younis, Israeli troops pulled back from eastern areas near the border, though sporadic tank shelling continued, residents told Reuters.
In central Gaza’s Nusseirat camp, Israeli forces dismantled some positions and moved eastward, but gunfire was reported early Friday. Along the Mediterranean coast, troops withdrew from key routes leading into Gaza City.
“As soon as we heard about the truce, we were ready to return home — even if it’s only to the rubble,” said Mahdi Saqla, 40. “For two years we’ve been displaced. Going back, even to ruins, feels like freedom.”
The exiled Gaza head of Hamas, Khalil al-Hayya, said he had received assurances from the United States and other mediators that the war was over.
The conflict, which erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks that killed 1,200 Israelis and led to 251 hostages being taken, has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza.
The war has also deepened Israel’s global isolation and strained ties with Washington, with President Trump reportedly growing impatient with Prime Minister Netanyahu and urging him to accept a ceasefire deal.
Despite the breakthrough, significant hurdles remain. Both sides have yet to release the full lists of prisoners and hostages to be exchanged, and Hamas is reportedly pushing for the release of high-profile Palestinian detainees.
Future stages of Trump’s 20-point peace plan — including the governance of postwar Gaza and the fate of Hamas — remain undecided.
The Hamas-run interior ministry said it would deploy security forces in areas vacated by Israeli troops, though it was unclear if armed fighters would reappear on the streets, a move Israel would likely view as a provocation.
President Trump is expected to visit the region on Sunday, possibly to attend a signing ceremony in Egypt. Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana has invited him to address the parliament in Jerusalem.
