Live: Israel dropped 153 tonnes of bombs on Gaza on Sunday

Israeli forces on Friday began pulling back from parts of the enclave, including Khan Younis, Gaza's civil defence agency said. 

"Israeli forces have withdrawn from several areas in Gaza City," Mohammed al-Mughayyir, a senior official with the agency, told AFP. 

He added that Israeli military vehicles had also pulled out from sections of the southern city of Khan Younis.

The US has spent nearly $34bn supporting Israel since 7 October 2023, according to a report published by Brown University on Tuesday, revealing the staggering cost of Israel’s wars in the region to US taxpayers.

The price tag means that the US has spent around $3,400 on defence and military activities for every citizen of Israel since the country launched its devastating assault on Gaza following the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel.

The hefty price tag to US taxpayers caught the attention of several commentators on social media. One wrote, “A family of 4 in Israel is receiving $577/month in subsidies, courtesy of the American taxpayer, for 2 years now.”

"Israelis still have free healthcare and free college and subsidized childcare. They haven’t reduced any of their social welfare programs. Meanwhile Americans are literally paying for groceries with their credit cards,” the post on X added.

The report took into account US military spending on Israel and related US military campaigns in the region as part of Brown University’s ongoing Costs of War project.

Read more: US taxpayers spent over $33bn on Israel's wars over two years

Bodies of at least 35 Palestinians were recovered in Gaza on Friday, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, quoting sources at the Baptist Hospital. 

At least 19 bodies have been recovered from Gaza City alone. 

The report said that a Palestinian was killed and several others were wounded by Israeli army fire in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood.

Israeli forces shelled areas across the Gaza Strip on Friday, despite a ceasefire taking effect following the approval of a deal by both Israel and Hamas to "end the war".

The truce officially began in the early hours of Friday, after receiving final approval from the Israeli government.

However, air strikes, artillery fire, and gunshots were reported in Gaza City and Khan Younis on Friday morning. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

As of Friday morning, Israeli tanks also remained positioned along al-Rashid Road, blocking the return of displaced people from southern Gaza to the north.

Under the terms of the agreement, troops are required to withdraw from the road and allow displaced residents to return within 24 hours.

Read more: Israel shells Gaza after ratifying ceasefire agreement

Bodies of at least seven Palestinians were recovered in Gaza City on Friday, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, quoting sources at the Baptist Hospital. 

The report said that a Palestinian was killed and several others were wounded by Israeli army fire in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood. 

US President Donald Trump began his Cabinet meeting on Thursday by celebrating a potential peace deal that he brokered to end the war in Gaza.

“We ended the war in Gaza, and on a much bigger basis, created peace… an everlasting peace in the Middle East,” he said, the latter a phrase he has repeatedly used since he held a press briefing on 29 September with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing that Israel accepted a ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, Israel continued to bombard Gaza on Thursday.

Talks were held in Egypt this week to hammer out details, leading to Hamas and Israel signing a ceasefire agreement on Thursday and agreeing to exchange Israeli living and deceased captives in exchange for Palestinian captives in the first phase of the deal.

The deal includes 20 Israeli living captives, 28 deceased Israeli captives, 250 Palestinians who were sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 prisoners who were arrested after 7 October 2023 in Gaza.

Read more: Hamas gets US guarantees on permanent end to war, Trump touts 'everlasting' peace

Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office on Friday said that no agreement has yet been reached on the lists of Palestinians who will be released by Israel. 

The office said that the circulating lists of prisoners to be released as part of the exchange deal are inaccurate, “promoted by the [Israeli] occupation with the aim of pressuring and disrupting the negotiations”.  

“If an agreement is reached, the official lists will be announced and published on the Prisoners’ Media Office platforms,” it said.

Israeli forces on Friday began withdrawing from Gaza City and the Beach refugee camp towards the agreed-upon line, Walla news organisation reported. 

Israel's regular 7th Brigade on Friday withdrew from the Gaza Strip, Channel 12 has reported. 

Israeli forces will be deployed at several checkpoints, the report said. 

The Israeli army withdrew combat units from the Golani Brigade and other forces from the Gaza Strip. 

US President Donald Trump wants Gaza to have a government but not a military force, Haaretz reported on Friday, citing senior US officials. 

Arab countries have guaranteed Hamas's disarmament, the official said.

Turkey, Qatar and other countries will regulate Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip, but American forces will not enter the Strip, they said.

The Israeli government on Thursday approved the Gaza ceasefire deal, which went into effect in the enclave immediately.

Hamas said it will release all Israeli captives in the next 72 hours, and in exchange, will receive 250 Palestinian prisoners given life sentences, as well as more than 1,000 captives from Gaza who were captured after 7 October 2023. 

US President Donald Trump's visit to Israel is likely to be postponed until Monday, Israel Hayom reported on Friday, citing an informed source.

Earlier, Israeli media reported that Trump was likely to arrive in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening and deliver a speech to mark the start of implementing his plan for the Gaza Strip.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that Trump will visit to celebrate the prisoner release agreement and the ceasefire in Gaza.

Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas on Friday said that Israel aims to disrupt the efforts of mediators to implement a ceasefire in Gaza, Al Jazeera Arabic reported. 

"The occupation government aims, through the massacre west of Gaza City, to disrupt the efforts of the mediators and disrupt efforts to implement the agreement," Hamas said in a statement. 

The organisation called on the mediators and the US administration to "assume their responsibility regarding the occupation's crimes and intervene to compel it to stop bombing civilians".

"The systematic massacres committed by the occupation reveal its government's insistence on continuing the genocide until the very last moment," the group said. 

Israeli attack helicopters on Friday targeted Gaza City in the north of the enclave, Al Jazeera Arabic reported. The report also mentioned that artillery shelling took place in the area, even as the ceasefire was accepted by Israel. 

Gaza’s civil defence has warned people to keep away from the border areas of Gaza City until the official announcement of the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The Israeli government on Thursday approved the Gaza ceasefire deal, which went into effect in the enclave immediately.

Hamas said it will release all Israeli captives in the next 72 hours, and in exchange, will receive 250 Palestinian prisoners given life sentences, as well as more than 1,000 captives from Gaza who were captured after 7 October 2023. 

Good morning, Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Israel's war on Gaza:

• The Israeli government has approved the ceasefire plan for the release of all captives held in the Gaza Strip.

• Hamas has agreed to a 72-hour timeline for the release of more Israeli captives.

• A swap of captives is set to take place over the coming days.

• Israeli media have published the names of Palestinians set to be released.

• US officials have said that the American military will set up a task force of 200 troops to monitor the ceasefire. 

• Gaza’s civil defence has warned people to keep away from the border areas until the official announcement of the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

• Israeli forces bombed the home of Palestinian man Muhammad Bassam Taha in the town of Qatana in East Jerusalem.

• Israeli attack helicopters targeted Gaza City, and artillery shelling has also been reported. 

Our live blog is now closed until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

- The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the Gaza ceasefire deal agreed upon one day earlier in Egypt. The ceasefire went into effect in the enclave at 1:30am local time, with reporters there confirming the skies have gone quiet.

- The United States will deploy 200 troops as part of a joint task force for Gaza stability, with no Americans actually on the ground in the Palestinian enclave, two senior US officials said.

- Hamas chief Khalil el-Hayya, in a video message, said he has received assurances from the mediators - Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and the US - that Israel's war on Gaza has come to a "complete end" via the implementation of the current ceasefire deal. 

- US President Donald Trump will fly to Israel and Egypt this weekend as part of ceasefire deal ceremonies in the region, he said.

- Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that his country will take part in efforts to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas chief Khalil el-Hayya, in a video message on Thursday, said he has received assurances from the mediators - Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and the US - that Israel's war on Gaza has come to a "complete end" via the implementation of the current ceasefire deal.