A long-awaited cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Friday – as the Jewish state released the list of 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences who will be freed, including convicted terrorists and senior Hamas members.

Israeli forces began pulling troops from parts of Gaza in the afternoon and halted hostilities, as part of the first phase of the breakthrough peace deal brokered by President Trump.

Photos and video showed thousands of displaced Palestinians wading through battle-scarred rubble and debris to return to their homes.

Both Hamas and Israel accepted the terms of the deal Wednesday night — with Gazans and Israelis praising Trump for shepherding an agreement that could end the intense two-year conflict in the war-torn region.

Once Israeli troops have pulled back, the first phase gives the terror group 72 hours to release the 20 living hostages it is still holding. Hundreds of trucks per day are also expected to surge into Gaza carrying food and medical aid.  

The bodies of 28 slain captives also still remain in Gaza, although Hamas has indicated that recovering the bodies of the slaughtered detainees may take longer.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address later Friday that Israeli forces will remain in Gaza to ensure Hamas is disarmed. They still hold more than half of Gaza.

“If this is achieved the easy way, then that will be good, and if not, then it will be achieved the hard way,” he said.  

The Jewish state will then free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences, more than half of whom will be deported to third countries, and 1,700 others detained during the war, as part of the ceasefire agreement.

Those set to be released include Mahmoud Qawasmeh, a senior Hamas terrorist responsible for several deadly attacks; Muhammad Zakarneh, convicted of planning the 2006 killing of a taxi driver; and Muhammad Abu al-Rub, jailed for a fatal stabbing attack in 2017, the Justice Ministry announced Friday.

Iyad Abu al-Rub, commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jen, who was accused of planning several suicide bombings in the early 2000s, is also slated for release, along with Baher Bader, a Hamas member arrested in 2004 for spearheading attacks that killed 18 Israelis, CNN reported.

Notably absent from the list is Marwan Barghouti, the imprisoned former leader of the West Bank’s Fatah party who is serving five life sentences for the 2002 deaths of five civilians — a high-profile prisoner Hamas has demanded be freed.

Israeli officials say freeing Barghouti would hand Hamas a propaganda victory and embolden extremists across the region.

Two senior Hamas militants — Ibrahim Hamed and Hassan Salameh — were also absent from the list.

The Trump-brokered agreement also calls for the disarmament of Hamas and the creation of a transitional government spearheaded by an international body. The so-called “Board of Peace” will play a role in Gaza’s post-war administration. The deal calls for Trump to lead it and includes former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Hamas, however, issued a defiant statement late on Friday rejecting any “foreign guardianship.”

Should the entire 20-point agreement proceed as planned, the Israel Defense Forces would agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza as international bodies rush in to provide aid and reconstruction to the decimated Palestinian enclave.

The two-year conflict in Gaza was sparked after Hamas’ depraved attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people and led to another 250 being kidnapped back to the Palestinian enclave.