US troops start arriving to manage Gaza ceasefire as thousands flood home & 72-hour countdown for hostage release begins

US troops have reportedly started arriving in Israel to oversee the Gaza ceasefire as thousands of Palestinians flood home.

Nearly 200,000 people have returned since the ceasefire came into effect on Friday – kicking off a 72-hour countdown for the return of all 48 Israeli hostages.

Palestinians displaced to the southern part of Gaza at Israel’s order return to the northReuters

Hamas gunmen seen seen patrolling in areas of GazaTelegram

But, within hours of the Israeli pullback, Hamas gunmen were spotted patrolling the streets of Gaza, Times of Israel reports.

A senior Hamas official told Sky News they intend to maintain a presence “on the ground”.

Speaking on Friday, Trump said he’s confident the Gaza deal will “hold” – and Hamas are rounding up Israeli hostages “now” from “rough places”.

And some of the 200 US troops being sent to Israel have started arriving to set up a coordination centre, two sources told ABC News.

As part of the deal, Israeli forces pulled back to new agreed positions – and once hostages are released, Israel will free will free 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazans detained after the October 7 attacks.

Trump said: “It’s a great deal for Israel, but it’s a great deal [for] everybody.

“Gaza is very important, but this is beyond Gaza. This is peace in the Middle East, and it is a beautiful thing, you know?

“It’s a term that you and I have been hearing since we were very young, right? And now we have a chance of really having that.”

Tens of thousands of Palestinians headed back to the heavily destroyed northern Gaza Strip as the ceasefire came into effect.

In Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, hundreds of Palestinians returning to their homes found wrecked buildings, rubble and destruction after Israeli troops withdrew.

Meanwhile, Trump is set to give a historic speech at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on Monday in Jerusalem before travelling to Egypt for a summit on Gaza with world leaders.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a peace and hostage-release deal proposed by Trump.

A copy of the signed agreement — titled Implementation Steps for President Trump’s Comprehensive End of Gaza War — sets out the dramatic sequence of events.

The deal declares “the end to the war in the Gaza Strip” once approved by Israel’s cabinet, with all military operations to halt immediately.

It orders the “full entry” of humanitarian aid into Gaza, followed by an Israeli pullback to agreed lines “within 24 hours” of approval.

Troops “will not return” to those areas so long as Hamas implements the deal.

The remains of the dead will also be recovered, with a joint task force — including the US, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey — formed to help locate missing bodies.

Israel will then begin releasing Palestinian prisoners in parallel with the hostage handovers, under a tightly controlled process overseen by mediators and the Red Cross and carried out without public ceremonies.

Trump, meanwhile, said disarmament of Hamas would come in a second phase and that Israeli forces would conduct “pullbacks”.

Asked about a two-state solution, he was non-committal: “I don’t have a view. I’m going to go with what they agreed to.”

Israeli military vehicles parked near the Israel-Gaza border amid the ceasefireReuters

Displaced Palestinians carry their belongings as they walk along Al-Jalaa Street in Gaza CityAP

Thousands of Palestinians begin returning from the south to the northGetty

Speaking after the ceasefire came into effect, Israeli PM Netanyahu said that troops will remain in Gaza until Hamas disarms.

He also confirmed that all hostages should will return in the coming days.

And a US-backed peacekeeping force is en route.

The task force would also include about 200 American troops based in Israel to help monitor the ceasefire, alongside personnel from Egypt and Qatar.

But Hamas has rejected Trump’s key plan for Tony Blair to take charge.

Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official involved in past talks with Washington, dismissed the idea outright.

“All the factions, including the Palestinian Authority, reject this,” he told Al Araby television.

Scenes of joy & tears

News of the peace deal sparked jubilant scenes across Israel and Gaza.

Hostage Square in Tel Aviv erupted in dancing and chants of “Bring Them Home” as US flags waved alongside Israeli banners and “I love Trump” signs.

Rebecca Bohbot, wife of hostage Elkana, 36, beamed: “For two years I have been fighting for the life of my man.

“This is the moment that a little boy will return to hug his father, a moment when my family comes back to life.”

Silvia Cunio, mother of hostage David, 34, sobbed: “I dream of the hugs, the kisses. I thank everyone for the warm embrace these past two years — it gave me the strength to keep going.”

Hurdles remain

Despite the euphoria, major obstacles remain at the destroyed enclave.

The deal still requires Hamas to agree to full disarmament, deradicalisation and exclusion from future governance — demands that could yet derail the process.

Israel has made clear it will not end its campaign until Hamas’s military capability, including its tunnel network, is dismantled.

Hamas is also demanding the return of the bodies of Yahya and Mohammad Sinwar, the brothers who led the group during the war before being assassinated by Israeli forces. But Israel has refused.

Under Trump’s plan, Gaza will ultimately be governed by a transitional authority overseen by an international body before being handed back to a new Palestinian administration.