The Israeli military said on Friday that the Gaza ceasefire agreement had gone into effect and it had removed its troops from parts of Gaza.
In a statement released on Telegram, the IDF said troops "began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines" from 12pm local time (10am BST).
As Israeli troops withdrew thousands of displaced Palestinians began to return to Gaza's north.
Dramatic images showed people making their way alongside the coastal road besidethe rubble of buildings flattened by bombing during the conflict
Israel's cabinet ratified a ceasefire with Hamas early on Friday, clearing the way to stop the fighting in Gaza.
Under the first phase of Donald Trump’s peace plan troops must withdraw from parts of Gaza - but it iu understood srael will still remain in control of nearly 60 per cent of the strip.
The remaining Israeli hostages should be released by Hamas within 72 hours of the deal being signed, under the agreement.
💬 Comment: Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize if this Israel-Palestine deal works
The Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners following the devastating two-year war.
The move is the biggest step yet to end the war in which over 67,000 Palestinians and return the last hostages seized by Hamas in the deadly attacks on October 7 2023.
"The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X.
Hamas' exiled Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said he had received guarantees from the United States and other mediators that "the war has completely ended".
In a televised speech on Thursday, he added: “Today we announce that the agreement has been reached to end the war and aggression against our people and begin implementing a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of the occupation forces.”
Under the deal, fighting will cease, Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza and Hamas will free all remaining hostages in exchange for hundreds of prisoners held by Israel.
Israel and Hamas have now both signed off on the first phase of US President Donald Trump's initiative to end the war that has upended the Middle East.
At the White House, Mr Trump said he believed it would lead to "lasting peace." The breakthrough comes the day before the Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced, with the US President previously saying he believes he “deserves” the prestigious accolade.
Under the deal, fleets of trucks carrying food and medical aid would be allowed into Gaza to relieve civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom have been sheltering in tents after Israeli forces destroyed their homes and razed buildings.
The US is moving up to 200 troops already based in the Middle East to co-ordinate a multinational force that will monitor the ceasefire, US officials have said.
The accord, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt a war that has evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in Iran, Yemen and Lebanon and deepened Israel's international isolation.
Much could still go wrong. Even after the deal was signed, a Palestinian source told Reuters the list of Palestinians to be released had yet to be finalised.
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, including 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 that it disarm.
Trump's initial 20-point plan called for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to lead the body.
Hamas has so far not agreed, saying Gaza's government should be worked out among Palestinians in light of their rights to sovereignty.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also faces scepticism from within his coalition.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would vote to bring down the government if Hamas is not dismantled. He also said he would vote against the deal, as expected.
In an address on Friday Netanyahu told Israeli citizens that he was “fulfilling” the promise to bring back all the hostages.
As part of the first stage of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces have now retreated from certain areas of Gaza.
Netanyahu said that despite the withdrawal of troops from some parts of Gaza, that Israel is still “surrounding Hamas from every direction”, adding that the next stages of Trump’s plan are that “Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarised” .Hamas has not made any pledge to disarm at this point.
Netanyahu added: “If this is achieved the easy way - so much the better. And if not - it will be achieved the hard way.”
The announcement of an end to fighting and the return of hostages was greeted with jubilation.
"Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing," said Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. "I am not the only one happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed."
Einav Zaugauker, whose son Matan is one of the last hostages, rejoiced in Tel Aviv's so-called Hostage Square, where families of those seized in the Hamas attack that triggered the war two years ago have long assembled.
"I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't explain what I'm feeling ... it's crazy," she said, speaking in the red glow of a celebratory flare.
In Gaza, Israeli strikes and shooting continued on Thursday before the official start of the ceasefire, but at a slower pace than in recent weeks when Israel was conducting one of its biggest offensives of the war.
The Gaza health ministry said at least three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire during the day on Thursday after reporting nine killed in the previous 24 hours, far fewer than the scores killed daily in recent weeks.
There were already signs on the ground of Israeli troops preparing to pull back. An eyewitness near Nusseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip told Reuters that he had seen the Israeli army blow up an abandoned troop position and lower a crane used to surveil the area.
Near the Netzarim corridor, the main staging area for Israeli troops in central Gaza, the army fired dozens of smoke grenades, typically used to provide cover for troops on the move.
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.
Mr Trump said he hoped to head to the region to attend a signing ceremony in Egypt and address the Israeli Knesset, its legislative body.
The deal received support from Arab and Western countries and was widely portrayed as a major diplomatic achievement for Mr Trump, who cast it as a first step towards reconciliation in the wider Middle East.
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 Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Western and Arab countries were meeting in Paris on Thursday to discuss an international peacekeeping force and reconstruction assistance for Gaza once the fighting stops.
Netanyahu called the deal "a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel."
But far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have long opposed any deal with Hamas.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Hamas must be destroyed once the hostages are returned.
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led militants stormed through Israeli towns and a music festival on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages.
