Implementation of the Gaza peace plan has started rolling down, and along with it, the United States has announced the deployment of up to 200 military personnel to Israel to monitor the ceasefire from within Israeli territory. However, these forces are explicitly not authorized to enter Gaza.
Reuters reported that thousands of displaced Palestinians started streaming back toward their abandoned homes, though completely destroyed, on Friday, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect and Israeli troops began pulling back from parts of Gaza. It stated:
“A huge column of displaced Gazans filed north through the dust and rubble toward Gaza City, the enclave’s biggest urban area, which had been under attack just days ago in one of Israel’s biggest offensives of the war.”
At the same time, multinational forces from Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, and Turkey have been designated to take over the responsibility for monitoring and enforcement in Gaza coordinated through diplomatic channels and international organizations such as the United Nations.
President Donald Trump described this development as “the end of the Gaza war and the beginning of peace in the Middle East.”
According to Reuters, “The Israeli military said the ceasefire agreement had been activated at noon local time (0900 GMT). Israel’s government ratified the ceasefire with Hamas in the early hours of Friday, clearing the way to partially pull back troops and fully suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours.”
Hamas is expected to release the 20 living Israeli hostages within 72 hours, after which Israel will release 250 Palestinians serving long terms detainment in Israeli prisons and 1,700 others detained in Gaza during the war.
The BBC reported that “a ceasefire deal has taken effect in Gaza that should see Hamas release all the 48 Israeli and foreign hostages it is still holding after two years of war, 20 of whom are assumed to be alive. All but one were among the 251 people abducted during the Palestinian group’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have begun repositioning along updated deployment lines, including a partial withdrawal to the agreed “Yellow Line” boundary (approximately 1.5–3 kilometers from the existing position known as the “Blue Line”), in commensurate with the 20-point U.S.-brokered framework developed in coordination with Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE.
Technical challenges have emerged in retrieving the bodies of deceased hostages buried under rubble caused by prior Israeli bombardments. Negotiations among Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey are underway to extend recovery timelines if necessary, ensuring Israel does not use delays as grounds to resume hostilities.
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said the Israeli military had completed the first phase of its withdrawal from Gaza and that the hostage-release period had begun.
Once the agreement is fully operational, trucks carrying food and medical aid will surge into Gaza to assist civilians — hundreds of thousands of whom have been sheltering in tents after Israeli forces turned their homes into rubbles and erased the entire territory.
The first phase of President Trump’s initiative to end the two-year war in Gaza calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from several major urban areas, though they will still control roughly half of the enclave’s territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited President Trump to address the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) during an expected Middle East visit — reportedly to strengthen his domestic standing amid pressure from right-wing coalition members opposing territorial concessions. Netanyahu hopes Trump will publicly affirm that the ceasefire plan was achieved under his diplomatic pressure and personal indulgence of the President.
Hamas has presented disarmament conditions tied to guarantees of Palestinian statehood, which are still under negotiation.
The United Nations has confirmed its readiness to scale up suspended humanitarian efforts following ceasefire.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that the UN can provide food assistance to up to one million Palestinians through community kitchens and meet the medical needs of 500,000 individuals using its existing field infrastructure after its rehabilitation. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher stated that the UN is “fully prepared and capable” of delivering aid but urged donors to contribute to the 2025 Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which requires $4 billion but has received only 28% ($1.1 billion) so far. The plan aims to assist 2.1 million people in Gaza and 900,000 in the West Bank.
At least 400 truckloads of aid are scheduled to enter Gaza daily during this initial phase.
Earlier in 2025, about 250,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza faced imminent risk due to encirclement, but following the October 9 decision, hopes for Palestinians survival, trapped in Gaza City, have risen. Celebrations broke out in Gaza for the long-awaited respite from bombardment and in Israel for the anticipated release of hostages.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli operations in Gaza have caused over 67,000 Palestinian deaths and nearly 170,000 injuries, with additional casualties still unaccounted for beneath the rubble.
This ceasefire follows a collapsed March 2025 truce, which broke down after Israel resumed attacks in violation of international humanitarian law. However, the current deal involves eight guarantor nations and under broad oversight of Donald Trump, increasing its chances of durability.
Islamic countries, including Pakistan, have expressed gratitude toward President Trump, while global leaders — including Russian President Vladimir Putin — have called it potentially “historic” if fully implemented.
If all sides adhere to their commitments — phased withdrawals, large-scale humanitarian access, reconstruction, and disarmament talks — this framework could create a pathway for Palestinian statehood, and region-wide de-escalation.
The Gaza ceasefire plan is not only the beginning of a new dawn of peace in the Middle East but also a ray of hope for the entire world. Under Trump’s leadership, this agreement could lay the foundation for a new life for both Palestinians and Israelis, where human rights, humanitarian aid, and reconstruction projects will take center stage. In the coming days, if all parties uphold their commitments, this plan could become a golden chapter in history, heralding an era of lasting peace, provided the Oslo Accord’s two-state solution is honored and the vision of East Jerusalem as its capital is kept alive.
