Israeli shelling continues as US plans to send 200 troops to oversee Gaza plan

The US has announced it will dispatch 200 military personnel to supervise the implementation of a Gaza 'peace plan' agreement, even as Israeli attacks were reported across the enclave early Friday, hours after Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government approved the deal.

Overnight, Netanyahu's cabinet approved the first phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point "peace plan", which calls for the release of 48 Israeli captives, including 20 who are still alive, in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinians detained in Israel's prisons.

The plan's initial stage also provides for the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been under Israeli siege for two years.

But even as the deal was signed off, Israeli shelling was reported around the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, with an airstrike hitting Khan Younis in the south and further bombardment east of Gaza City.

Netanyahu remains wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the two-year Gaza war, which has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Gaza's health ministry says thousands remain unaccounted for beneath the rubble.

US troops to monitor plan

Senior American officials said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, would lead the 200-strong team of US personnel tasked with "supervising, monitoring, and ensuring there are no violations", however, they would not be deployed inside Gaza itself.

Officials said military representatives from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and possibly the UAE will join the mission.

Trump's plan also outlines a temporary multinational "International Stabilisation Force" with Jordan and Egypt, tasked with training Palestinian police and securing Gaza's borders with Israel and the Sinai Peninsula.

Hamas is under increasing Israeli, American, and Arab pressure to disarm and have no future governing role in the enclave.

Hamas official: 'No objection to meeting Trump'

According to the plan, Sunday will see Trump arrive in the region to formally declare the end of the Gaza war, with the prisoner exchange to follow on Monday.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the movement had no objection to meeting Trump during his visit to the region.

"Our principled position is that the only party we refuse to meet is the [Israeli] occupation," he said.

Hamdan said the deal had represented "an opportunity" for Israel after two years of failing to achieve its objectives by brutual force, adding that the world was outraged by the genocide committed in Gaza.

Five crossings, hundreds of trucks

A Palestinian source told The New Arab's Arabic edition that five crossings - Kerem Shalom, Kissufim, Karni, Erez (Beit Hanoun), and one known as Mefalsim - would be opened to deliver humanitarian aid.

At least 400 trucks - carrying food, medicine, shelter materials, fuel, and engineering equipment - are expected to enter Gaza every day as part of the deal. 

The flow of supplies is supposed to prepare on-the-ground conditions for reconstruction too, the source said, with equipment to be used for both for reconstruction and to search for the remains of captives.

Israeli intelligence assessments have found that Hamas is unable to locate all 48 dead captives in Gaza, and reports on Thursday said an international task force could be sent to the enclave to help find their remains.

Gaza City pullout

Meanwhile, Gaza's Civil Defence agency renewed calls for residents to avoid areas where Israeli forces were previously present.

"We cannot trust the occupation forces, and targeting operations are still ongoing," the group told Alaraby TV.

"Our estimates indicate that there are over 300 bodies in Gaza City," it said, noting that many residents had returned to neighbourhoods in the city where no Israeli forces are currently present.

"These are difficult hours, and citizens should be cautious in returning to their areas," warning people to stay away from potentially explosive materials that pose a serious threat to their lives.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that the army was continuing its gradual withdrawal to the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip, in line with Trump's plan, with the pull-out from Gaza City expected to be completed within the next 24 hours.

Netanyahu’s government had announced plans in the summer to fully conquer the Gaza Strip, focusing a military offensive on Gaza City that forced out around 900,000 people.