Tens of thousands of Palestinians were starting to walk north to return to their homes Friday, after the Israeli military said the ceasefire agreement with Hamas came into effect at noon local time and that troops were withdrawing to the agreed-upon deployment lines.
The announcement came after Palestinians reported heavy shelling Friday morning in northern Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said early Friday that Israel's Cabinet approved President Donald Trump's plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of all remaining hostages and of Palestinian prisoners.
The statement said the Cabinet approved the "outline" of a deal to release the hostages, without mentioning other aspects of the plan that are more controversial.
While the approval marks a key step toward ending a devastating two-year war, the broader ceasefire plan leaves many questions unanswered, including whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza.
In an interview with the AP, the International Committee of the Red Cross says the expected hostage and prisoner release will be more challenging than previous ones given the scale and speed of the operation.
Christian Cardon, chief spokesman for the ICRC, said Friday that while the group is expected to play a role as hostages are released from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israel, it has not been given details in terms of when, how or where the releases would occur.
"Our colleagues are preparing themselves for all possible scenarios," said Cardon.
He said that the terms of the deal, which call for the hostages to be released from Gaza within 72 hours, was an "extremely" tight time frame.
The ICRC was involved in prisoner and hostage releases in the two previous ceasefires during the war.
Palestinians who previously left Gaza will be able to return for the first time, according to an Israeli security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Palestinians from Gaza who left the besieged Gaza Strip during the war or before the war started will be able to return to Gaza after undergoing security checks from Israel and Egypt. The official did not provide details on when Palestinians hoping to return to Gaza can begin to do so.
The measure is part of humanitarian policies that will be implemented as part of the ceasefire, the official said. Israel will revert to the same humanitarian measures that were in place during the previous ceasefire in January 2025, which include the entry of 600 trucks per day of humanitarian aid carrying food, medical supplies, shelter, cooking gas and fuel for essential services.
Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Friday that Italian police will resume patrolling the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt next week, under the ceasefire plan agreed between Israel and Hamas.
"In compliance with the Trump agreement, the Rafah Crossing Point will be opened in two directions alternately, outbound to Egypt and inbound to Gaza, on October 14, 2025," Crosetto said in a statement.
The Italian minister added that Israel is working to restore the crossing's infrastructure as quickly as possible.
Crosetto also said about 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid will flow into Gaza from other crossings every day.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is about to achieve one of its central goals in the two-year war - the return of the hostages.
"Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt that the sword was on its neck - and it is still on its neck," Netanyahu said on Friday. "Hamas agreed to the deal after Trump's plan, which I agreed to with the President in Washington."
"I promised the families of the hostages, and I also promised you, citizens of Israel, that we will return everyone, without exception. We promised and we are fulfilling it," he said.
Under the ceasefire plan agreed with Hamas, all 48 hostages still in captivity are expected to be released. Israel believes around 20 of them are alive.
Netanyahu added that Israel would continue with its demilitarization of Hamas after the return of the hostages.
Under the ceasefire deal, Israeli troops are withdrawing to new positions in Gaza - a process already underway - and all 48 hostages still in captivity are expected to be released. Israel believes around 20 of them are alive.
In exchange, Israel will release around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. A list of those prisoners published Friday by Israel did not include high-profile prisoner Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader who has spend more than two decades imprisoned for deadly attacks.
Large crowds of people who had gathered in Wadi Gaza in central Gaza in the morning started walking north after the military's announcement that a ceasefire had taken effect at noon local time.
Earlier, Palestinians reported heavy shelling in parts of Gaza throughout Friday morning.
"We want to go back," said Fayez AlMajdoub, who was displaced from northern Gaza. "I want to go and make sure my home is still there. That's what I want to know."
The spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said that Palestinians can now return to northern Gaza by two roads, though he warned against approaching areas in northern Gaza including Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Al-Shujaiyya, and areas where troops are still present.
Elsewhere in southern Gaza, Adraee warned Palestinians against approaching the Rafah crossing the philadelphi corridor and all areas where troops are present in Khan Younis.
He spoke Friday as the Israeli military said the ceasefire with Hamas has taken effect.
Earlier Friday morning, Gaza residents reported intensified shelling after Israel's Cabinet approved the ceasefire plan.
In central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, Mahmoud Sharkawy, one of the many people sheltering there after being displaced from Gaza City, said artillery shelling intensified in the early hours.
"The shelling has significantly increased today," said Sharkawy, adding that low flying military aircraft had been flying over central Gaza.
In northern Gaza, two Gaza City residents told The Associated Press that bombing went on in the early hours, mostly artillery shelling.
The managing director of Shifa hospital, Rami Mhanna, said the shelling in southern and northern Gaza City had not stopped following the Israeli Cabinet's approval of the ceasefire plan.
The troops will help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private-sector players, US officials said Thursday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that were not authorized for release, said US Central Command is going to establish a "civil-military coordination center" in Israel that will help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into the territory.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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