By JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Oct 10 (AfrikTimes) — Israeli troops began withdrawing from parts of Gaza on Friday under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, as some residents cautiously returned to their devastated neighbourhoods amid uncertainty over when the fighting would fully stop after two years of war.
“Thank God my house is still standing,” said Ismail Zayda, 40, in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan area. “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?”
A child sits atop belongings on a vehicle as Palestinians, who were displaced to the southern part of Gaza at Israel’s order during the war, attempt to return to the north, after Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire with Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip October 10, 2025.
Israel’s government ratified the ceasefire with Hamas in the early hours of Friday, clearing the way for hostilities to be suspended in Gaza within 24 hours and for Israeli hostages held in the enclave to be freed within 72 hours.
The first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the two-year war calls for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Israeli Forces Begin Pullout
“The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on X.
A Palestinian woman builds a fire as a girl child looks towards it while beside a tent, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 9, 2025.
In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, residents reported that Israeli troops had pulled back from the eastern outskirts near the border, though tank shelling could still be heard. In Nusseirat camp in central Gaza, soldiers dismantled some positions and moved east towards the border, while others remained in place after gunfire was heard early Friday.
Israeli forces also withdrew from the coastal road leading into Gaza City, where hundreds of residents gathered, hoping to return to the enclave’s main urban centre, which has been under intense Israeli assault for the past month. Sporadic gunfire nearby made many hesitant to move forward, and only a few attempted to cross on foot.
Rescue teams entered parts of Gaza City they had been unable to reach earlier. Medics said at least ten bodies were recovered from previous strikes.
A displaced Palestinian child looks through a covering made from blankets as they take shelter at an UNRWA-run school, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 9, 2025.
Hamas Says It Has Guarantees the War Is Over
The war has left Israel increasingly isolated internationally and destabilised the Middle East, sparking clashes that pulled in Iran, Yemen and Lebanon. It has also strained Israel’s alliance with Washington, with Trump reportedly losing patience with Netanyahu and pressing him to accept a ceasefire.
Israelis and Palestinians alike celebrated the agreement, seen as the most significant breakthrough yet toward ending the two-year conflict that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and paved the way for the return of the last Israeli hostages seized by Hamas in the attacks that triggered the war.
Hamas’ exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, said he had received guarantees from the United States and other mediators that the war was over, as Israel and Hamas moved to implement a ceasefire deal that could end two years of devastating conflict.
Palestinians walk through a damaged neighborhood in the aftermath of an Israeli operation, after Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire with Hamas, in Gaza City October 10, 2025.
According to Israeli authorities, twenty hostages are still believed to be alive in Gaza, while 26 are presumed dead and the fate of two remains unknown. Hamas has indicated that the recovery of the bodies of the deceased could take longer than the release of those still alive.
Once the agreement takes effect, truck convoys carrying food and medical aid are expected to pour into Gaza to assist civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom have been sheltering in tents after Israeli forces leveled their homes and flattened much of the territory.
Hurdles Remain
If fully implemented, the accord would mark the closest both sides have come to ending the war since it began. Yet significant obstacles remain.
Neither side has released the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed in exchange for Israeli hostages. Hamas is demanding the release of several high-profile Palestinian prisoners along with hundreds of detainees captured during Israel’s ground offensive.
Smoke rises from an explosion in Gaza, after Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza, as seen from Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, October 10, 2025.
Further stages of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace initiative also remain unresolved, including decisions on who will govern the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and the fate of Hamas, which continues to reject Israel’s insistence that it disarm.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces resistance within his own coalition, where many members oppose any agreement with Hamas.
Trump said he would travel to the region on Sunday, possibly to attend a signing ceremony in Egypt. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana has invited him to address the Israeli parliament.
Israeli soldiers stand next to military vehicles, after Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza, on Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, October 10, 2025.
U.S. to Join Task Force for Gaza Stability
The deal has received broad support from Arab and Western nations and is being hailed as a major diplomatic breakthrough for Trump.
Two senior U.S. officials said on Thursday that Washington would contribute 200 troops to a multinational task force for Gaza stability. The force will include personnel from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and possibly the United Arab Emirates, though no American troops will be deployed inside the Palestinian enclave itself.
The war, triggered by Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and left vast areas of the enclave in ruins. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people and captured 251 hostages in the initial assault, setting off Israel’s prolonged and destructive campaign.
A screen grab of a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account, announcing that Israel and Hamas have signed off on the first phase of the U.S.-proposed Gaza deal, allowing for the release of all Israeli hostages, on October 8, 2025.
