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Israel's administration has publicly approved a comprehensive ceasefire deal that includes the release of all outstanding hostages held by the militant group in Gaza, marking a crucial step toward concluding the destructive two-year war.

American Defense Role in Overseeing the Truce

Top officials in the White House have stated that a American military contingent of around 200 personnel will be sent to the area to "oversee" the ceasefire after both Israeli authorities and the militant organization consented to the first phase of the former President Trump administration's peace initiative.

The role will be to supervise, observe, guarantee there are no infractions.

Swift Implementation Schedule

According to an Israel's spokesperson, the ceasefire should start immediately following government approval. The Israel's army was provided 24 hours to withdraw its troops to an established line. Afterward, the hostages held in the Gaza Strip would be freed within 72 hours, a cabinet official declared.

Key Developments

• Hamas' exiled Gaza Strip head a senior Hamas official said he had secured promises from the United States and other mediators that the conflict was finished.
• The commander of the American armed forces' CENTCOM, General Brad Cooper, would initially have 200 personnel on the location, a senior American representative confirmed.
• From Egypt, from Qatar, Turkish and likely Emirati military representatives would be incorporated in the team, the US authority added. A second representative stated that "no US troops are scheduled to go into the Gaza Strip".
• Israeli strikes continued in the hours before the Israel's cabinet's approval. Blasts were witnessed on the previous day in northern the Gaza Strip, and a airstrike on a building in Gaza City killed at least two people and left more than 40 stranded under wreckage, as per Gazan emergency services.
• A minimum of 11 deceased Gazan residents and another 49 who were hurt were brought at hospitals over the past 24 hours, the Gaza Strip's Hamas-administered medical department announced.
• Israel was targeting locations that constituted a danger to its troops as they redeploy, said an Israeli armed forces official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The militant group condemned Israel over the attack, arguing that the Israeli Prime Minister was seeking to "mix up the circumstances and confuse" initiatives by intermediaries to end the conflict.
• Twenty Israeli hostages are still believed to be surviving in Gaza, while 26 are presumed dead, and the status of two is unclear.
• The Trump administration broader 20-point ceasefire plan includes many pending issues, such as if and how the militant organization will lay down arms. But both parties appeared closer than they have been in months to ending the war, which was sparked by the militant group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli territory, in which around 1,200 persons were murdered and 251 captured, prompting an Israel's response that has left more than 67,000 Gazan residents killed and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to the Gaza Strip's health ministry.
• Israeli Defense Forces confirmed Mordechai Nachmani, a 26-year-old reserve soldier, was murdered in a Hamas marksman assault in the Gaza capital on the previous day afternoon. This occurred after Israeli and Hamas representatives finalized a deal in Egypt to ensure the return of the detainees, though the truce aspect of the agreement had not yet taken place.
• Israeli outlet a major Israeli newspaper has published the details of Gazan prisoners it believes could be liberated as part of the new arrangement. 250 Palestinian detainees who are serving lengthy prison terms are projected to be released as part of the agreement, out of about 290 presently held in Israeli prison. 22 children will also be liberated.

International Reaction

There have been no plans for British or European military personnel to be in Gaza after the truce arrangement, the United Kingdom's foreign secretary the British official declared. "This is not our plan, there's no intentions to do that," she stated on Friday morning.

She added: "But there is an swift plan for the United States to spearhead what is effectively like a observation system to ensure that this happens on the site, to oversee the procedure with hostage release, and also making sure that this initial stage is enacted, getting the relief in place, but they have also made very clear that they anticipate the military personnel on the ground to be furnished by adjacent countries, and that is something that we do expect to take place."

The official said she expects the halt in fighting will be implemented "right away". As per the foreign secretary, there are international negotiations on an "global protection force" and the United Kingdom was carrying on to contribute in other manners, including exploring securing private investment into Gaza.

Public Reaction

Israelis and Palestinians alike expressed joy after the truce arrangement was revealed, while there was elation but also anxiety in the Gaza Strip amid concerns the latest deal could fail.