from Middle East Eye
Thousands of Palestinians began returning to northern Gaza on Friday after a ceasefire took effect, following Israel and Hamas’s approval of a deal to "end the war" and exchange prisoners.
The Israeli military said the ceasefire officially began at 12pm local time (9am GMT), following the completion of its withdrawal to agreed-upon lines of the first phase. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
The Israeli government ratified the agreement on Friday morning, just hours after Hamas announced that a deal had been reached.
Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, on Thursday published a leaked copy of the agreement's first phase signed in Egypt, which states that the war would “immediately end” once approved by Israel.
The document also specifies that the first step in implementation will be a formal announcement by US President Donald Trump declaring the end of the war in Gaza.
Trump is expected to visit Egypt over the weekend to attend an official signing ceremony, followed by a visit to Israel on Monday.
On Thursday, Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya confirmed that the Palestinian movement had also approved the agreement “to end the war”.
He added that the United States and other mediators had provided guarantees that the signing of the deal would mean the war “has ended indefinitely”...
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