Jerusalem/Cairo, Oct 11: Thousands of displaced Palestinians walked across the devastated landscape of Gaza on Friday to return to the ruins of their homes, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect and Israeli troops began withdrawing from urban areas under a U.S.-brokered agreement to end the two-year war.
Columns of people trekked north along Gaza’s coastal road towards Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre, which only days ago had been under one of Israel’s fiercest bombardments of the conflict. “Thank God my house is still standing,” said Ismail Zayda, 40, in the city’s Sheikh Radwan district. “But the place is destroyed — my neighbours’ houses are destroyed, entire districts have gone.”
In the south, residents of Khan Younis picked their way through rubble and dust. Many, like Ahmed al-Brim, salvaged what little they could. “We went to our area. It was exterminated,” he said, pushing a bicycle laden with scrap timber. “We couldn’t get clothes or furniture — nothing is left.”
The ceasefire, part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, began at noon (0900 GMT). Israeli forces have 24 hours to pull back from urban positions, though they will continue to control more than half of the territory.
Israel’s government ratified the agreement early Friday, paving the way for the release of the last hostages and the first major pause in fighting since the war began in October 2023. Under the deal, Hamas will release 20 surviving Israeli hostages within 72 hours, while Israel will free 250 long-term prisoners and 1,700 detainees captured during the conflict.
Trump is expected to visit the region on Sunday, possibly for a signing ceremony in Egypt, and to deliver a speech to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset — the first by a U.S. president since George W. Bush in 2008. His plan calls for the creation of an international “Board of Peace,” led by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to oversee Gaza’s post-war reconstruction and administration.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said forces would remain in Gaza until Hamas is disarmed. “If this is achieved the easy way, then that will be good, and if not, then it will be achieved the hard way,” he said in a televised address.
Hamas’s Gaza leader Khalil al-Hayya said he had received guarantees from the United States and other mediators that “the war is over.”
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed during the conflict, triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 taken hostage.
As thousands of Gazans streamed back into cities for the first time in months, many found little more than rubble. “We are happy just to return to where our homes were,” said Mahdi Saqla, 40. “Even over the ruins — that too is a great joy.”
Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin urged residents to stay clear of areas still under Israeli control. “Keep to the agreement and ensure your safety,” he said.
Despite the ceasefire, major challenges remain. Hamas has not agreed to disarm, and questions persist over who will govern Gaza once Israeli troops withdraw. The Hamas-run interior ministry said it would deploy security forces in vacated areas, but it was unclear if militants would also return — a move Israel has warned could reignite hostilities.
