Israeli Army Radio reported on Friday that it was decided to release 11 prisoners from Hamas instead of 11 from Fatah, as part of a prisoner exchange agreement under the Gaza deal, noting that the change occurred “at the last moment” in the list of those to be released.

According to Sky News Arabia, Hamas is expected to release 20 live Israeli prisoners all at once, 72 hours after the ceasefire begins.

In return, Israel will release 250 Palestinian prisoners with long sentences, in addition to 1,700 other detainees held since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli occupation army earlier announced that the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip came into effect at noon local time today, stating in a statement: “The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 12:00, and forces began positioning along updated deployment lines in preparation to implement the agreement’s terms and the return of the hostages.”

The statement added that “the army forces in the southern command are deployed in the area and will continue to remove any immediate threat.”

With the start of the agreement’s implementation, video clips showed thousands of Palestinian displaced people returning from central and southern Gaza to the north via Al-Rashid coastal street.