Gaza

 The Guardian -   Thousands of displaced Palestinians have begun to return home from southern Gaza after a ceasefire came into effect and Israeli troops withdrew to an agreed-upon redeployment line – the first time that fighting has stopped in the devastated territory since March.

The Israeli military said the ceasefire agreement, which was approved by the Israeli cabinet on Thursday night and begins the first phase of a US-drafted plan to end the war in Gaza, had been activated at noon local time (0900 GMT) on Friday.

Under the terms of the plan, Hamas is expected to release the 20 living Israeli hostages within 72 hours, after which Israel will release 250 Palestinians serving long terms in Israeli prisons, as well as 1,700 others detained in Gaza during the war.

The Guardian -  Jihad al-Hilu heard the news of the ceasefire on a radio while sitting in his tent in al-Mawasi. “At that moment, I felt a mix of joy and relief, as if some hope had returned to my heart after a long wait. We were longing for this moment, for the blood to stop and for the massacres that have broken so many homes to end,” Hilu, 33, told the Guardian.

“At the same time, there is a great fear that lives within us. We worry that this truce might be temporary and that the war could return as it did before.”

There are also widespread concerns about what peace may bring to Gaza, where more than 90% of homes have been damaged or destroyed, almost all infrastructure destroyed and where much of the population goes hungry every day. More than 67,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed by the Israeli offensive launched in the aftermath of the Hamas raid in October 2023, which killed 1,200, also mostly civilians, and saw 251 taken hostage by militants.

“What worries me more than anything is the lack of security. Hunger can be endured, but the absence of safety is the real disaster. I fear that Gaza could turn into a place of chaos ruled by gangs and militias instead of law and order,” Hilu said.

Witnesses said Israeli forces fired tank shells to prevent Palestinians returning to northern parts of Gaza on Thursday morning but reported no sounds of fighting or airstrikes.