• Many Palestinians return to destroyed homes in Gaza
• Hamas expected to release 20 living Israeli prisoners after which Israel will release 1,950 Palestinians
• US plans 200 troops deployment for task force
JERUSALEM: Thousands of displaced Palestinians streamed back towards their abandoned homes on Friday after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect and Israeli troops began pulling back from parts of Gaza.
A huge column of displaced Gazans filed north through the dust and rubble towards 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.
“Thank God my house is still standing,” said Ismail Zayda, 40, in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City. “But the place is destroyed, my neighbours’ houses are destroyed, entire districts have gone.”
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 prisoners within 72 hours, after which Israel will release 250 Palestinians serving long terms in Israeli prisons, and 1,700 others detained in Gaza during the war.
US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said the Israeli military had completed the first phase of a withdrawal in Gaza and the Israeli, prisoners’ release period had started.
Once the agreement is operating, trucks carrying food and medical aid will surge into Gaza to help civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom have been sheltering in tents after Israeli forces destroyed their homes and razed entire cities.
Israeli troop pullout
In Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, some Israeli troops pulled back from the eastern area near the border, but tank shelling was heard, according to residents.
In Nusseirat camp in the centre of the enclave, some Israeli soldiers dismantled their position and headed east towards the Israeli border, though other troops remained in the area after gunfire was heard in the early hours of Friday.
Israeli forces pulled out from the road along the Mediterranean coast into Gaza City.
“As soon as we heard the news of the truce and ceasefire, we were very happy and got ready to go back to Gaza City, to our homes. Of course there are no homes — they’ve been destroyed,” said Mahdi Saqla, 40.
“But we are happy just to return to where our homes were, even over the rubble. That too is a great joy. For two years we’ve been suffering, displaced from place to place,” he added.
US to deploy troops for Gaza task force
The United States will deploy up to 200 troops to Israel to establish a task force to support stabilisation efforts in Gaza, but no Americans are expected to be deployed into the Palestinian enclave, US officials said on Thursday.
The US military’s Central Command will stand up the task force, known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center, or CMCC, one of the officials said.
The CMCC’s job will be to facilitate the flow of assistance into Gaza, including security assistance and humanitarian aid, officials said.
Two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US troops would be the core of the CMCC, but it would also include representatives from Egypt’s military, Qatar, Turkiye and probably the United Arab Emirates.
The officials said the joint control centre would coordinate with Israeli forces and other security forces to avoid clashes.
“No US troops are intended to go into Gaza,” said one of the officials.
Gaza reconstruction
Meanwhile, Germany wants to organise an international conference with Egypt for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, as Israel and Hamas edged closer to ending hostilities.
The main goal of this conference “should be to address the most urgent needs, such as rebuilding water and energy supplies and medical care”, Merz said in a statement.
Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2025
