Israeli hostage release countdown begins as Palestinians return to Gaza’s north

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised President Trump for helping broker the ceasefire deal and said Russia stands ready to help implement it.

Putin said that if the agreement is successfully implemented, it would mark a major achievement and a “historic event.”

He noted that Russia has close ties with the Palestinian authority and could help carry out the deal if asked.

“Bearing in mind the level of trust that exists between Russia and our Arab friends, and especially Palestinian friends, of course, I believe our participation could be in demand,” Putin told reporters on a trip to Tajikistan.

“We will, of course, always be ready to participate. We have been involved in this for decades, and I think Russia has something to say and something to offer to address the issues that will arise, one way or another, during the implementation of the agreements reached,” he said.

Putin noted that he decided to postpone a Russia-Arab summit in Moscow that had been scheduled for Oct. 15 in order “not to interfere with the process that has been initiated by President Trump.”

Palestinians who left northern Gaza during the many periods of fighting there were seen trekking back to the area on Friday, carrying what they could, images showed.

Pictures showed streams of people moving north on Rashid Street, a coastal road that links the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory.  

Many people were seen moving on foot while others were traveling in cars or smaller vehicles.

Last month, Israel’s military ordered the evacuation of Gaza City in the northern part of Gaza.

Images from Gaza City on Friday showed sweeping devastation.

The leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. praised the “significant developments” in the Middle East in a joint statement Friday, as the first phase of the Trump-brokered plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas got underway.

“We welcome the agreement on a ceasefire in the Middle East, the planned release of hostages, and the resumption of humanitarian aid to the civilian population of Gaza,” French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “We pay tribute to President Trump’s leadership on the issue, to the diplomatic efforts of the mediators, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, and to the vital support from the wider region to secure the agreement.”

“It is now of utmost importance that all parties implement their obligations in full and without delay,” they added in the statement. “We stand ready to support further talks on the next stages of the plan and to contribute to it.” 

Celebrations continued on Friday in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square after the Israeli government agreed to the first phase of the White House peace proposal.

Families gathered to mark the beginning of Shabbat, many joining in song.

As the sun set, the square was full. Families of hostages were setting up for Shabbat dinner in a building off the square – which they are hoping will be their last before the remaining hostages are freed. They planned to share the meal in private, away from the media. 

Photos taken on Friday showed American flags flying above streets in Jerusalem alongside Israeli flags.

Other images showed a large billboard, in Tel Aviv, featuring President Trump and reading: “Thank You Mr. President.”

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher outlined plans on Friday to get 172,000 metric tons “of food, medicine, tents” and other essential materials into the Gaza Strip in the coming days. 

“We aim at hundreds of truckloads every day; food to over 2m people; restoration of decimated health system; 1.4m people reached with water and sanitation; 1000s of tents distributed every week; 700,000 kids back in education,” Fletcher said in a social media post.

“We need all crossings open; safe routes; removal of red tape and physical barriers; power restored to bakeries, hospitals, water stations; entry of at least 1.9m litres of fuel every week; protection of humanitarian workers; and NGO access,” he said.

An Israeli security official told CBS News on Friday that 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were set to enter Gaza in the coming days, but there was no word from aid agencies about any significant increase in the flow of such materials into the war-torn enclave following a ceasefire taking effect.

UNRWA spokesperson Jonathan Fowler told Al Jazeera on Friday the U.N. agency was still “waiting for the signal” to begin distributing aid in Gaza, adding a call for all border crossings into the enclave to be opened.

Fowler said the U.N. had 6,000 aid trucks ready to enter Gaza from Egypt and Jordan.

After over two years in captivity, Nimrod Cohen is among the hostages set to be released as part of the Israel-Hamas peace deal. His father, Yehuda Cohen, said Friday that the family was eagerly anticipating his return, but added that it was “too soon to open champagne.” 

“We started to count the 72 hours. We are on the third hour,” Cohen told “CBS Mornings,” referring to the Monday deadline Hamas is facing to release all of the remaining Israeli hostages under the terms of the agreement. “The champagne time will come.” 

Cohen said he has no idea what condition his son is in. He will be in a “very protected area” after he returns, Cohen said. 

He added that the family was eager to begin rehabilitating Nimrod as soon as possible, but they have no set plans for how his return will go. 

“It’s not a play, it’s not a show,” Cohen said. “This is reality, and we are waiting for that moment of reality.” 

Two hundred U.S. troops will be deployed to Israel to help coordinate humanitarian and security assistance, and they should be in place by Sunday, a U.S. official told CBS News on Friday. 

The U.S. personnel will be deployed from “within the CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] region,” and will mostly consist of U.S. Army members who specialize in logistics, communications, transportation and security, the U.S. official said. 

It’s “the type of expertise that can ensure the flow of humanitarian assistance and also monitor the security situation in Gaza,” the official said. 

The CENTCOM region is the area of responsibility for the U.S. military that encompasses the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia.

The official stressed that no U.S. military personnel would be deployed inside the Gaza Strip.

By Charlie D’Agata and Emmet Lyons 

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said Friday that the ceasefire in Gaza “is an emotional moment for the people of Israel,” and for Israeli soldiers.

“We will do everything possible to protect the security of the residents of the western Negev, the south and the entire country,” Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said at a news conference, according to The Times of Israel.

He said when Hamas launched its attack on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking the Gaza war, “the most important contract with the citizens of Israel was violated. We weren’t there for Israeli citizens at their most difficult time.”

“Since then … we have not stopped for a moment, and we never will,” he said.

Defrin said that “Hamas today is not the Hamas of two years ago,” adding that the U.S.- and Israeli designated terrorist group, “has been defeated everywhere we fought it.”

The bodies of 81 people were recovered from various areas across the Gaza Strip Friday morning, including 73 in Gaza City, CBS News’ team in Gaza reported Friday, citing hospital sources in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas police officials also returned to the streets of Gaza City following the Israeli military’s repositioning on Friday, our team in Gaza reported. 

Israeli troops launched a ground offensive in the city, Gaza’s largest, in September, and they had continued operating there until Friday morning.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health said in a Facebook post on Friday that 17 people were killed as a result of Israeli military action over the preceding 24 hours.

A total of 67,211 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between combatant and civilian casualties.

CBS News’ Debora Patta said Israel continued its military operations right up until the ceasefire took effect on Friday morning.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the volunteer-based organization representing the families of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack, said in a statement Friday that “no leader or organization has done more for peace around the world than President Donald J. Trump.” 

“While the Norwegian Nobel Committee chose a different recipient this year, the truth remains undeniable,” the group said.  “President Trump’s unprecedented achievements in peacemaking this past year speak for themselves, and no award or lack thereof can diminish the profound impact he has had on our families and on global peace.” 

An Israeli police spokesperson said Friday that preparations were underway ahead of an expected visit by President Trump to Israel on Monday. 

“The Israel Police is completing preparations for the visit of the President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, to Israel, this coming Monday,” Superintendent David Filo, Head of the Police Operations Division, said in a statement Friday

“Thousands of police officers, Border Guard soldiers and volunteers will operate starting in the early hours of Monday morning to provide security, maintain public order and direct traffic during the state visit, which is expected to last several hours,” Filo said.

The Israeli Ministry of Justice released on Friday a list of 250 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released as part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Under the terms of the deal, Palestinian prisoners are only expected to go free after a 72-hour period, by the end of which all remaining Israeli hostages, living and dead, are to be released. That 72-hour period ends on Monday afternoon in Israel. 

An Israeli official told CBS News on Friday that Hamas would release all the remaining hostages by noon local time on Monday, which would be 5 a.m. Eastern. 

The Rafah crossing from southern Gaza into Egypt will reopen on Tuesday in coordination with European Union authorities and the White House, the Italian Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday. 

“The Rafah crossing, on October 14, 2025, in compliance with the Trump agreement, in coordination between the European Union and the parties, will be opened alternately in two directions: exit towards Egypt and entry towards Gaza,” Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in the statement. 

Crosetto also said that operations for the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners would begin Sunday. 

The EU Border Assistance Mission at Rafah — a civilian mission that provides a neutral third party presence on the Gaza-Egypt border —  will be present to monitor the border’s reopening, the defense minister said.

CBS News’ team in Gaza reported Friday that displaced Gazans had begun returning to northern parts of the war-torn enclave, as the Israeli military partially withdrew its forces in line with the ceasefire agreement. 

Displaced Palestinians were seen traveling up Al Rasheed road, the main artery along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast. 

Eyewitnesses reported seeing full-scale destruction in Gaza City, where Israeli forces had been conducting ground operations right up until Friday morning when the ceasefire took effect. 

Witnesses told CBS News that extensive damage was visible in neighborhoods across Gaza City, and in Al-Shati Refugee Camp on the city’s western side.

International Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric said Friday that the return of hostages and Palestinian prisoners must be carried out “safely and with dignity” 

“ICRC teams in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank will support its implementation by helping to return hostages and detainees to their families. We are also ready to help return human remains so families can mourn their loved ones with dignity,” Spoljaric said. “The ceasefire must hold. Lives depend on it.” 

An Arab diplomat and a source familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel newspaper that Hamas had agreed during talks in Egypt not to hold public ceremonies during the handover of hostages to Israel, as it had done during previous releases.

Gal Hirsch, the Hostage and Missing Persons Coordinator for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, told CBS News on Thursday that an international team would be established to locate missing hostages “in the coming days.” 

Hamas had said in a statement last week that it had agreed to the release of all Israeli hostages — living and dead — provided “that appropriate field conditions are ensured for the exchange process.”

Israeli officials have said it is believed that only 20 of the 48 remaining hostages in Gaza are still alive. 

President Trump’s senior envoy Steve Witkoff said Friday in a social media post that the U.S. military’s Central Command had “confirmed that the Israeli Defense Forces completed the first phase withdrawal to the yellow line at 12PM local time,” adding that the “72 hour period” for Hamas to release all remaining Israeli hostages “has begun.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel is “tightening the noose around Hamas from all sides,” and vowed that Gaza would be demilitarized following the Israeli government’s approval of a peace plan to end the war. 

“Hamas will disarm and Gaza will be demilitarized. If this can be achieved the easy way, all the better; if not, it will be achieved the hard way,” Netanyahu said, addressing reporters. 

The Israeli leader defended his record in prosecuting the war in Gaza, which has killed over 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 inside the Strip. It agreed only 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 were set to enter Gaza in the coming days as the ceasefire takes hold.

The trucks will be 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 equipment, as well as fuel to operate essential systems and cooking gas.”

“Residents will be allowed to leave 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 U.N. office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told CBS News Friday that an expanded flow of aid had not yet been allowed into the war-torn Palestinian enclave. UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, also said there had been no increase in the flow of aid into Gaza early on Friday.

Large plumes of smoke billowed into the skies above Gaza on Friday morning, and CBS News’ Debora Patta said Israeli bombs continued to fall on the Palestinian territory right up until the final hours before the military said the ceasefire had taken effect.

Israeli officials had said on Thursday that the ceasefire would take effect immediately upon the government’s approval of the deal, which came late Thursday evening, but the explosions continued for hours after that.

An Israeli military spokesperson said in an Arabic language statement directed at residents of Gaza on Friday that the “Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will remain stationed in designated areas within 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 would release all outstanding hostages by noon local time on Monday, which would be 5 a.m. Eastern. 

President Trump said Thursday that all of the 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 believe there are still 48 people held captive in Gaza, 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

The Israeli military said Friday that a ceasefire in Gaza came into effect at noon local time (5 a.m. Eastern)  and that Israeli troops had begun 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 the remaining Israeli hostages.

“Since 12:00, IDF troops began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of hostages,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Friday.

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

President Trump had said Wednesday on his Truth Social platform that Israel “will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line” as the first step towards his 20 point peace proposal to end the war in Gaza.