After Reaching a Ceasefire: Hundreds of Thousands Return to Gaza City After the Occupation Announces the Agreement Has Taken Effect

SadaNews - Hundreds of thousands of residents from the Gaza Strip have returned to Gaza City and their living areas following the implementation of the ceasefire, which was preceded by airstrikes and targeted attacks before the occupation army announced the actual application of the agreement at 12 noon, after it was ratified by the Israeli government last night. The occupation army withdrew to "the lines stipulated by the agreement," according to the army spokesperson, after the occupation forces had begun withdrawing from some sites, including the withdrawal of occupation tanks from Al-Rasheed Street, in the central Gaza Strip. In addition, families, as well as medical teams and civil defense crews, began recovering the bodies of martyrs, while civil defense confirmed that its estimates indicate the existence of more than 300 bodies of martyrs in Gaza City alone. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to paint a picture of victory in a video speech he delivered today, Friday, after the ceasefire agreement took effect, stressing that Hamas will be disarmed, and Gaza will be completely demilitarized; he also indicated that there are "many opportunities, and we will expand the circle of peace." The Israeli government officially ratified the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, following its meeting on Thursday night - Friday morning after a cabinet session, during which U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to this, since the ratification of the agreement, within 72 hours, the exchange of prisoners between Hamas and Israel must take place. Netanyahu's office announced the government's approval of the proposal to release all living prisoners and the bodies of the dead from the Gaza Strip; this proposal was opposed by ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich and members of Knesset from their parties.