An Israel-Hamas ceasefire went into effect at noon local time on Friday.

The ceasefire marks the beginning of what is intended to be a phased peace plan that should result in the release of about 20 living hostages held by the terrorist group since it launched the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 that triggered the Gaza war. The bodies of about 28 other hostages who unfortunately lost their lives will also be returned.

In exchange, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and 1,700 detainees from Gaza. An influx of humanitarian aid is also ongoing.

President Donald Trump’s complete peace deal calls for the demilitarization of Gaza, the relinquishing of political power by Hamas and the transitional governing of Gaza by a technocratic committee supervised by Trump a

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