Progress of the Gaza Ceasefire
PALESTINE – Israel and Hamas reached a Gaza ceasefire agreement, with Israeli government approving the deal later, but despite all this, Israeli attacks across Gaza Strip continued on Friday.
Several artillery shells hit the Al-Katiba area in the center of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, with drones spotted flying over the city, according to local reports.
The eastern part of Gaza City was also subjected to artillery shelling and gunfire from helicopters.
Israeli army attacks were also reported in southern Nablus on Palestinian farmers.
Over 35 Palestinian bodies were recovered from previous attacks across Gaza Strip on Friday according to medics.
Israeli Government Vote on the Gaza Ceasefire Deal
The Israeli government began a meeting Thursday to vote on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, according to a report by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
The session opened with a security briefing by Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, it said.
Israeli media reported that US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner entered the meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after concluding talks.
The meeting followed hours of delay after a Security Cabinet session ended without a vote.
Later, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office shared a video of Netanyahu at the government meeting for the approval of the hostage release framework together with Witkoff and Kushner.
“We couldn’t have achieved it without the extraordinary help of President Trump and his team, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner,” Netanyahu said, adding they worked “tirelessly.”
Thanking Witkoff and Kushner, Netanyahu said they worked “around the clock.”
“Not only worked – I think you put in your brains and your hearts. We know that it’s for the benefit of Israel and the US, for the benefit of decent people everywhere,” he added.
Kushner said bringing the hostages home has been a priority for Trump for a “very, very long time.”
“We’ve all worked very tirelessly to do that,” he added.
Witkoff said Trump believes that Netanyahu made “some very, very difficult calls.”
The Israeli Cabinet approved the deal early Friday.
“The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased,” it said.
The ceasefire agreement was announced at dawn Thursday following four days of indirect negotiations between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel in Egypt’s Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with mediation from Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar and the US.
Israeli Army Begins Gradual Withdrawal
The Israeli army began its gradual troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Friday and will complete its withdrawal to the locations specified in US President Donald Trump‘s plan to end the war on the Gaza Strip within 24 hours, according to Israeli media.
“Over the next 24 hours, the Israeli army will complete its withdrawal from certain areas inside the Gaza Strip to the yellow line, as agreed in the Trump plan between Israel and Hamas,” Israeli Channel 12 said, adding: “The forces are expected to withdraw eastward from Rafah and Khan Yunis (south) and from areas north of the Gaza Strip and approach the border with the State of Israel.”
200 American Troops to be Part of Gaza Joint Task Force
About 200 US troops will take part in a multinational force that will monitor and help implement a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip, US officials said Thursday.
One of the officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, maintained that “no US troops are intended to go into Gaza.” The exact location where they will be staged is expected to be discussed on Friday.
The official said they would instead be tasked initially with establishing an initial “joint control center” before working to integrate with forces from other countries “to deconflict with the IDF (Israeli army), and then to build the right force structure that’s able to handle the missions as they are defined.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Adm. Bradley Cooper will “oversee, observe, make sure there are no violations, incursions. Everybody’s worried about the other side,” another official said.
“Much of this is going to be oversight,” he said.
The officials further stated that the troops would form the nucleus of a task force, expected to include military representatives from Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, and potentially the United Arab Emirates, according to reports in US media.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the US force will total up to 200 troops “who are already stationed at CENTCOM.” They “will be tasked with monitoring the peace agreement in Israel, and they will work with other international forces on the ground,” she said through the US social media company X.
One of the officials said the US is engaged with “multiple governments” over the creation of what is being called the “International Stabilization Force,” which will use the work done by the joint task force as it prepares to replace Israeli forces in Gaza along what is being called the “yellow line.”
The term has been used to refer to the area from which Israel is expected to initially withdraw under President Donald Trump’s plan.
“And then there’ll be discussions, and then we’ll see if there really is a true pathway for, I think we’re using a decommissioning of the military installations in Gaza and the heavy arms in order to get that going,” one of the officials said.
“So that’s kind of what we’re working on right now, but I think more will come out over time. I think right now, we’re just focused on making sure any gaps are patched up in in the agreement,” the official added.
