Israel says ceasefire takes effect in Gaza, raising hopes for ending war

Wadi Gaza: A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza on Friday, the military said, hours after Israel’s Cabinet approved a deal to pause the fighting and exchange the remaining hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Tens of thousands of people who had gathered in Wadi Gaza in central Gaza started walking north after the Israeli military’s announcement at noon local time. Beforehand, Palestinians reported heavy shelling in parts of Gaza throughout Friday morning, but no significant bombardment was reported after.

The ceasefire marks a key step toward ending a ruinous two-year war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, destabilised the Middle East, and left dozens of hostages, living and dead, in the territory.

Still, the broader plan advanced by US President Donald Trump includes many unanswered questions, such as whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza. Despite those questions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted in a televised statement on Friday that the next stages would see Hamas disarm and Gaza demilitarised.

“If this is achieved the easy way, so be it. If not, it will be achieved the hard way,” Netanyahu said. He added that Hamas agreed to the deal “only when it felt that the sword was on its neck — and it is still on its neck.” Israeli Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, an Israeli military spokesman, said that troops had completed their withdrawal to the deployment lines by Friday afternoon, a few hours after the ceasefire officially went into effect.

Earlier, an Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the withdrawal, said the military would control around 50 per cent of Gaza in their new positions.

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 of Friday before the military’s announcement.

“The shelling has significantly increased today,” said Sharkawy, adding that low-flying military aircraft had been flying over central Gaza.

Residents of Gaza City in the north also reported shelling in the early hours.

“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 neighbourhood after her house was destroyed.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.