Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement Thursday for a ceasefire and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

 

The first phase of the US brokered ceasefire plan will take effect on Friday once the agreement is approved by the full Israeli government on Thursday, according to Reuters. 

 

Under the terms of the agreement: fighting will cease, Israel will withdraw a majority of troops from Gaza while maintaining control over 53% of the strip. Following this, Hamas will release the remaining hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. 

The Israeli government, on Thursday, said plans are in progress to “transition to adjusted deployment lines soon,” according to the BBC.

 

A 72-hour countdown will begin on Thursday, for Hamas to release all 20 hostages believed to be alive and the return of the 28 deceased hostages that will follow. It remains unclear if Hamas will abide by this time frame due to the improbability of quickly locating the deceased bodies, most of which are allegedly buried under rubble. 

 

Right after, Israel plans to release about 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees from Gaza. Israel will return the bodies of 15 Gazans for each deceased Israeli hostage, according to Trump’s plan.

Aid will be allowed to enter Gaza following Israel’s previous restrictions on aid entering the region. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, “[we are] ready to go as soon as we get the green light…There are thousands of metric tonnes in the pipeline of goods ready to enter.”