Gaza ceasefire in effect, Israeli military says

President Trump’s top envoy, Steve Witkoff, said in a social media post Friday that the U.S. military’s Central Command had “confirmed that the Israeli Defense Forces had completed the first phase of withdrawal to the Yellow Line at noon local time,” adding that the “72-hour period” given to Hamas to release all remaining Israeli hostages “has begun.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel was “tightening the noose around Hamas on all sides” and promised that Gaza would be demilitarized after the Israeli government approved a peace plan to end the war.

“Hamas will disarm and Gaza will be demilitarized. If it can be done the easy way, great; if not, it will be done the hard way,” Netanyahu said, speaking to reporters.

The Israeli leader defended his record in continuing the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza health authorities.

“Anyone who claims that this hostage deal was always on the table is simply not telling the truth. Hamas never agreed to release all the hostages while we remained deep in the Gaza Strip. It only agreed when the sword was on its neck, and that sword is still there,” Netanyahu said.

An Israeli security source told CBS News on Friday that 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid are expected to enter Gaza in the coming days as the ceasefire takes hold.

The trucks will come from United Nations agencies, as well as other approved international organizations, the private sector and donor countries, the security source said.

The aid will mainly consist of “food, medical equipment, shelter materials, as well as fuel to operate essential systems and cooking gas.”

“Residents will be allowed to exit through the Rafah crossing in coordination with Egypt, after security approval by Israel and under the supervision” of a European Union delegation, the source told CBS News.

A spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told CBS News on Friday that an increased flow of aid had not yet been authorized into the war-torn Palestinian enclave. UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, also said there had been no increase in the flow of aid to Gaza as of Friday morning.

Large plumes of smoke billowed into the skies over Gaza on Friday morning, and CBS News’ Debora Patta said Israeli bombs continued to fall on the Palestinian territory until the final hours before the army announced the cease-fire took effect.

Israeli officials had said Thursday that the ceasefire would come into effect immediately after the government approved the deal Thursday evening, but the explosions continued for hours.

An Israeli military spokesperson said in an Arabic statement to Gazans on Friday that “the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will remain stationed in designated areas in the Gaza Strip.”

“Do not approach IDF forces in these areas until further notice. Approaching these forces puts you at serious risk,” the spokesperson said.

An Israeli official told CBS News that Hamas will release all outstanding hostages on Monday at noon local time, or 5 a.m. Eastern Time.

President Trump said Thursday that all remaining Israeli hostages, including the bodies of deceased hostages held in Gaza, would likely be released “Monday or Tuesday” as part of the peace deal.

Israeli officials estimate there are still 48 people held captive in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

The Israeli military said Friday that a ceasefire in Gaza went into effect at noon local time (5 a.m. Eastern) and Israeli troops began withdrawing from parts of Gaza as part of the first phase of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end the two-year war and bring home remaining Israeli hostages.

“Since noon, IDF troops have begun positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of the hostages,” the Israeli military said in a statement on Friday.

A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told CBS News partner BBC News that Israeli troops would withdraw to a line leaving them in control of 53 percent of Gaza in the first phase of the plan.

President Trump said Wednesday on his Truth Social program that Israel would “withdraw its troops along an agreed-upon line” as the first step toward his 20-point peace proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.