TEL AVIV, October 10. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has announced that a ceasefire agreement on the Gaza Strip had come into effect.
"The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 12:00 (9 a.m. GMT - TASS)," the army press service said in a statement.
"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 press service added. "IDF troops in the Southern Command are deployed in the area and will continue to remove any immediate threat," it noted.
Israel’s Channel 12 pointed out that, accordingly, a 72-hour countdown had started until the release of hostages held by the Palestinian movement Hamas in the embattled enclave.
In the early hours of October 10, the Israeli premier’s office announced that the government had ratified "a deal to release all hostages, both living and dead."
