Palestinian youths celebrate near Deir al-Balah's Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital in the central Gaza Strip on October 9, 2025, following news of a Gaza ceasefire deal. The first phase of a ceasefire framework will allow for the release of all hostages held in Gaza, Israeli withdrawal to an agreed point and the release of some Palestinian prisoners, marking a major step toward ending the two-year war. Photo: VCG

The Israeli government approved a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in the early hours of Friday, and its forces pulled back from parts of Gaza in accordance with the deal, according to media reports. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday that China hopes that a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza will be realized as early as possible.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza on Friday, the Israeli military said, hours after Israel's Cabinet approved a deal to pause the fighting and exchange the remaining hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Thousands of displaced Palestinians streamed back toward their abandoned homes on Friday after the ceasefire came into effect and Israeli troops began pulling back from parts of Gaza, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, once the deal is operating, trucks carrying food and medical aid will surge into Gaza to help civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom have been sheltering in tents after Israeli forces destroyed their homes and razed entire cities to dust, Reuters reported. 

Asked to comment on the Israeli government's approval of the ceasefire agreement, which is reported to include the withdrawal of Israel's forces from the territories that they invaded during the war and exchange of prisoners with Palestinian factions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday that China hopes that a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza will be realized as early as possible, the humanitarian crisis will be effectively eased, and tensions in the region will be diffused.

China upholds the principle of "the Palestinians governing Palestine" and promotes the implementation of the two-State solution, Guo told a regular press briefing in Beijing. "We stand ready to work with the international community to make unremitting effort towards an early, full, just and lasting resolution of the Palestinian question and a peaceful and stable Middle East," the spokesperson said.

"At present, the ceasefire can likely be achieved and maintained for a short period. However, the core issues behind the conflict remain unresolved," Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times on Friday. 

For now, the ceasefire is largely the result of strong pressure from the US, but its long-term stability remains highly uncertain, Zhu said, noting that for both sides, the deal is acceptable under current circumstances but far from their demands.

The AP report noted that while the ceasefire marks a key step toward ending a ruinous two-year war, the broader plan includes many unanswered questions, such as whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted in a televised statement Friday that the next stages would see Hamas disarm and Gaza demilitarized. "If this is achieved the easy way - so be it. If not - it will be achieved the hard way," Netanyahu said, per AP. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Israel and Hamas to "fully abide" by the ceasefire and hostage release deal, calling it a "desperately needed breakthrough" that must mark "the beginning of the end of this devastating war," according UN News on Thursday.