A ceasefire in Gaza began today after two years of devastating war – following Israel’s overnight approval of President Donald Trump’s peace plan aimed at halting the bloodshed and securing the release of remaining hostages.
At noon local time (10am BST), the guns finally fell silent as Israeli troops began withdrawing to new defensive lines under the fragile truce and thousands of displaced Palestinians began making their way back to Gaza City.
Extraordinary images showed huge crowds walking across bombed-out wastelands towards what remains of their homes in the ruins of the besieged strip.
The pause marks the most dramatic step yet in efforts to end a conflict that has ravaged Gaza and destabilised the Middle East.
But the deal leaves a power vacuum, raising urgent questions about who will govern Gaza once the fighting stops.
Under the plan, a transitional committee of Palestinians and international experts would run the territory, overseen by a new Board of Peace chaired by Donald Trump.
Hamas and other militant groups would be banned from any role in government, and all weapons, tunnels, and military infrastructure would be dismantled under independent supervision.
The Israeli military has said the ceasefire agreement with Hamas came into effect at noon local time (10am BST), and that troops are withdrawing to the agreed-upon deployment lines. Pictured: Palestinians who were displaced to the southern part of Gaza at Israel’s order during the war return to Gaza City
The pause marks the most dramatic step yet in efforts to end a conflict that has ravaged Gaza and destabilised the Middle East
But the deal leaves a power vacuum, raising urgent questions about who will govern Gaza once the fighting stops. Pictured: Israeli tanks arrive at a gathering site after withdrawing from the Gaza Strip
An international stabilisation force would train vetted Palestinian police and help secure Gaza’s borders alongside Egypt and Jordan.
Yet, with Hamas already vowing to keep its weapons, and Israel insisting on full demilitarisation, the question of who will control the wasteland remains unanswered.
Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone, warning that Hamas must still meet Israel’s demands for disarmament and security guarantees.
The Israeli military said the ceasefire agreement with Hamas came into effect at noon local time (10am BST), and that troops are withdrawing to the agreed-upon deployment lines.
‘IDF: The Ceasefire Agreement Came Into Effect at 12:00,’ the military said in a statement.
‘Since 12:00 (0900 GMT), IDF troops began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of hostages.’
The Israeli military said the ceasefire agreement with Hamas came into effect at noon local time (10am BST), and that troops are withdrawing to the agreed-upon deployment lines. Pictured: Palestinian’s attempt to return to the north of Gaza following the ceasefire
Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone, warning that Hamas must still meet Israel’s demands for disarmament and security guarantees
A brief statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office early Friday said the Cabinet approved the ‘outline’ of a deal to release the hostages, without mentioning other aspects of the plan that are more controversial
Pictured: Palestinians walk along a street amid the rubble of destroyed buildings during a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
After the Cabinet approval, Gaza residents reported intensified shelling well into Friday morning
A brief statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office early Friday said the Cabinet approved the ‘outline’ of a deal to release the hostages, without mentioning other aspects of the plan that are more controversial.
Netanyahu also threatened that Israel would return to war if his demands are not met ‘the easy way.’
‘Hamas will be disarmed, and Gaza will be demilitarized,’ he told reporters. ‘If this is achieved the easy way, great. And if not, it will be achieved the hard way.’
An Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the withdrawal, said the military would control around 50% of Gaza in their new positions.
After the Cabinet approval, Gaza residents reported intensified shelling well into Friday morning.
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.
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
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on the northern part of the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, 10 October 2025, despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas under the first phase of the Gaza peace plan
Israeli soldiers stand near their tanks along the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, after Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages
‘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 had been ongoing since 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.
‘It is confusing, we have been hearing shelling all night despite the ceasefire news,’ said Heba Garoun, who fled her home in eastern Gaza City to another neighborhood in the city after her house was destroyed.
A senior Hamas official and lead negotiator made a speech Thursday laying out what he said were the core elements of the ceasefire deal: Israel releasing around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, opening the border crossing with Egypt, allowing aid to flow and Israeli forces withdrawing.
Khalil al-Hayya said all women and children held in Israeli jails will also be freed. He did not offer details on the extent of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
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
Some Palestinians walk on foot along Rashid Street, carrying the few belongings they manage to save, as they hope to go back to their homes after enduring harsh living conditions for months in Gaza City
A smoke plume billows following Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip as pictured from across the border in southern Israel on October 10, 2025
Al-Hayya said the Trump administration and mediators had given assurances that the war is over, and that Hamas and other Palestinian factions will now focus on achieving self-determination and establishing a Palestinian state.
‘We declare today that we have reached an agreement to end the war and the aggression against our people,’ Al-Hayya said in a televised speech Thursday evening.
To help support and monitor the ceasefire deal, U.S. officials said they would send about 200 troops to Israel as part of a broader, international team.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not authorized for release.
It comes as The International Committee of the Red Cross Friday said all releases of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners called for in the Gaza ceasefire agreement should be carried out ‘safely and with dignity’.
The Israeli government said Friday it had ‘approved the framework’ of a hostage release deal with Hamas, as both sides edged closer to ending more than two years of hostilities in Gaza.
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric hailed the plan, which calls for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the 47 hostages remaining in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
‘The ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas must mark a turning point in two years of unimaginable horror,’ she said in a statement, stressing that it ‘offers a vital chance to save lives and ease suffering’.
The ICRC chief insisted that ‘the coming days are critical’.
‘I urge the parties to hold to their commitments. Release operations must be carried out safely and with dignity,’ she said.
ICRC teams in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank would ‘support its implementation by helping to return hostages and detainees to their families’, she said, adding that they were ‘also ready to help return human remains so families can mourn their loved ones with dignity’.
The Geneva-based humanitarian organisation has said it had facilitated the release of 148 hostages and 1,931 detainees since October 2023. It has also facilitated the return of human remains.
Previous transfers of hostages in the war have sparked anger in Israel, following chaotic scenes during the handovers as Hamas paraded hostages before crowds.
Spoljaric’s comments came a day after Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Berosian stressed that Israel was ‘expecting the handover of our hostages to be conducted with respect and decorum by Hamas’.
There would be no tolerance for hostages being ‘paraded around’ as in the past, she said.
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