Israeli troops begin withdrawing from Gaza as ceasefire takes effect

Israeli military began withdrawing from the Gaza Strip as the ceasefire agreement with Hamas took effect Friday morning.

Families reportedly begun returning to the enclave from where they had been forcibly displaced following Israel’s bombardment.

The redeployment line pulls the Israeli forces back from some of Gaza’s major urban areas but still leaves them in control of roughly half of the enclave’s territory.

Under the agreement, within 72 hours of the military’s redeployment, Hamas is expected to release all 48 hostages and hand them over to Israeli security forces.

The 48 hostages include 20 who are known to be alive. But Israel demanded that dead bodies also be returned.

Hamas noted that recovering the bodies of some dead hostages may take longer, as not all burial sites are known.

After the hostages are released, Israel is expected to release 250 Palestinians convicted or suspected of security crimes, as well as 1,700 adults and 22 minors detained in Gaza during the war, and the bodies of 360 fighters.

Humanitarian aid will also be ramped up into Gaza, and permitted to move freely between the northern and southern parts.

Though this is only the first stage of the agreement, it is the most significant breakthrough yet in years.

Other parts of the US President Donald Trump-initiated plan are still contested by Israel and Hamas.

Israel has demanded Hamas give up arms, which the group has so far refused to discuss.

In an address after the ceasefire came into effect, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said his forces will continue to pressure Hamas until the group disarms.

He said they will hold “controlling positions” of the troops who have remained in strategic parts of the enclave.

“This way we have a hold on Hamas, from all directions toward the next stages of the plan, in which Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized,” he said.

“If this is achieved the easy way then that will be good, and if not then it will be achieved the hard way.”

The Israeli military said they have positioned themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of hostages.