JERUSALEM/GAZA/WASHINGTON/CAIRO - The Israeli army said on Friday that a ceasefire deal came into effect in Gaza.

The Israeli government on early Friday approved the ceasefire deal with Hamas to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all remaining hostages came into effect.

Under the terms of the agreement, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua, the ceasefire is now in effect.

"The government now approved the framework for the release of all the hostages -- both the living and the deceased," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

The deal gained enough votes, though pro-settler ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, among others, voted against it.

"The war will immediately end upon the approval of the Israeli government," the agreement read. "All military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment and targeting operations will be suspended."

Guarantees from mediators, US

Hamas said on Thursday that it has received guarantees from mediators and the US administration confirming the complete end of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Khalil al-Hayya, chief of the Hamas negotiating delegation, said in a televised statement that the guarantees pave the way for the implementation of the first phase of the US plan for a permanent ceasefire.

"We have received guarantees from the mediators and the US administration confirming that the war has ended completely," al-Hayya said.

He added that Hamas would continue working with Palestinian national and Islamic factions to complete the remaining steps of the agreement, safeguard the interests of the Palestinian people, and achieve their legitimate rights until the establishment of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Al-Hayya reaffirmed Hamas' approval of the agreement reached during the three-day negotiations held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh.

He said the agreement includes a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the entry of humanitarian aid, the reopening of the Rafah crossing in both directions, and a prisoner swap.

Under the deal, 250 prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 detainees from Gaza arrested after Oct 7, 2023, will be released, in addition to all women and children, according to al-Hayya.

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Hostages release

Meanwhile, Israel will release about 2,000 Palestinians, including minors and convicted militants, as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Hamas, an Israeli official said on Thursday, ahead of a crucial overnight vote by the Security Cabinet and the full government.

The Security Cabinet met in the evening ahead of a full cabinet session to vote on the first phase of the US-backed 20-point peace plan, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, the truce will take effect once the votes are completed. Within 24 hours, the Israeli military will carry out an initial pullback to the so-called "yellow line," a reference to a ceasefire map released by the White House last month that outlines multiple stages of withdrawal.

Israel will also allow humanitarian aid to flow into the Gaza Strip, the official added.

The official confirmed that Marwan Barghouti, a senior Fatah leader imprisoned since 2002 and serving multiple life sentences for deadly attacks during the Second Intifada, will not be released under the deal.

US troops 

The United States is sending about 200 troops to Israel to "oversee" the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, US media reported Thursday.

The task force will "oversee, observe, make sure there are no violations" of the deal, a senior US official told reporters.

Members of Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish armed forces would be embedded in the US team, according to the official.

The task force will "not be in Gaza," another US official said.

Sisi invites Trump to attend deal signing

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday invited US President Donald Trump to attend the signing of a Gaza ceasefire agreement in Egypt and urged that the deal be implemented without delay, the Egyptian presidency said.

Sisi extended the invitation during talks in Cairo with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who helped broker the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas under the US-backed 20-point peace plan.

"I look forward to receiving President Trump in Egypt to witness the signing of this historic agreement in a celebration befitting the event," Sisi said, while stressing the "critical urgency" of enforcing the truce immediately.

At the White House, Trump said he hoped to attend the ceremony in Egypt and was willing to address Israel's parliament, the Knesset, "if they would like me to."

"I'm going to try and make a trip over. We're going to try and get over there, and we're working on the timing, the exact timing," Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting.