What we know so far about the first phase of Gaza ceasefire

Israel's government ratified a ceasefire with Hamas on Friday, clearing the way to suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours and free Israeli hostages held there within 72 hours after that.

The Israeli cabinet approved the deal early on Friday morning, roughly 24 hours after mediators announced the agreement, which calls for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the start of a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza under U.S. President Donald Trump's initiative to end the two-year conflict.

Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced, the biggest step yet to end the two-year conflict in which over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and return the last hostages seized by Hamas in the deadly attacks that triggered the assault.

Hamas' Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said he had received guarantees from the United States and other mediators that the conflict was over.

An Israeli government spokesperson said the ceasefire would go into force within 24 hours of government approval of the deal. After that 24-hour period, the hostages held in Gaza would be freed within 72 hours.

Twenty Israeli hostages are still believed to be alive in Gaza, while 26 are presumed dead, and the fate of two is unknown. Hamas has indicated that recovering the bodies of the dead may take longer than releasing those who are alive.

Once the agreement is operational, 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 to dust.

Challenges remain

The accord, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt the conflict, but much could still go wrong.

Even after the deal was signed, a Palestinian source said the list of hundreds of Palestinians to be released was not finalized. The group is seeking freedom for some of the most prominent Palestinian convicts held in Israeli jails, as well as hundreds of people detained during Israel's assault.

Further steps in Trump's 20-point plan have yet to be discussed. Those include how the shattered Gaza Strip is to be ruled when the fighting ends and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has so far rejected Israel's demands to disarm.

Netanyahu also faces skepticism from within his governing coalition, as many have long opposed any deal with Hamas. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would vote to bring down the government if Hamas is not dismantled.

Niu Xinchun, a professor at the China-Arab Research Institute of Ningxia University, told CGTN that the ceasefire agreement marks a major step toward ending the two-year Gaza conflict, but lasting peace remains uncertain.

He explained that the deal divides Trump's 20-point plan into two stages: the first involves Hamas releasing all hostages, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrawing from parts of Gaza, and freeing nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees; the second is much more difficult to achieve, which covers Hamas's disarmament and Israel's full troop withdrawal from Gaza.

Trump's plan also called for the creation of an "International Stabilization Force (ISF)" to be deployed to Gaza and train "vetted Palestinian police forces" in Gaza. With this force in place, the IDF would then be expected to withdraw from Gaza.

"Now, both sides have indeed taken the first step, but it remains unclear whether and when the second step will be taken," Niu said.

Some experts warn there may be a flare-up after the end of the first phrase ceasefire.

U.S. to deploy 200 troops

Trump said he would head to the region on Sunday to possibly attend a signing ceremony in Egypt, and that Gaza will be "gradually rebuilt," though he did not provide further details. Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana invited him to address the legislative body, which would be the first such speech by a U.S. president since 2008.

The deal received support from Arab and Western countries and was widely portrayed as a major diplomatic achievement for Trump.

Successful completion of the deal would mark a significant accomplishment for the Republican president, who has struggled to quickly deliver on his promises to bring peace to the Gaza conflict and the Ukraine crisis.

Western and Arab countries met in Paris to discuss an international peacekeeping force and reconstruction assistance for Gaza once the fighting stops.

The United States will deploy 200 troops as part of a joint task force for Gaza stability, with no Americans on the ground in the Palestinian enclave, two senior U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The officials, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the 200 would be a core part of a task force that would include representatives from Egypt's military, Qatar, Türkiye and probably from the United Arab Emirates.

Rafah crossing to reopen

According to the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the Rafah border crossing will reopen within 72 hours after the ceasefire takes effect. A joint European-Egyptian mechanism will temporarily manage the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing. Meanwhile, heavy equipment will be transported into Gaza to help clear debris and rescue detained individuals.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said on Thursday that the UN system is fully mobilized and is preparing to deliver large-scale humanitarian aid to Gaza over the next 60 days.

In the first phase after the ceasefire, the UN plans to increase the number of aid trucks entering Gaza by several hundred per day, providing food assistance to over 2.1 million people and nutritional support to 500,000. The UN will also repair medical facilities, restore water, sewage and electricity systems, and distribute tents, tarpaulins and other winter supplies to displaced families, while establishing temporary learning spaces for 700,000 children.

Fletcher stressed that these efforts require both security guarantees and adequate funding, noting that only 28 percent of the UN's humanitarian appeal for Palestine has been funded so far.

(With input from agencies)