Israel-Hamas cease fire, but hurdles remain for Gaza peace

After more than 2 years of devastating war, Gaza is now hoping for peace.

This comes after both Israel and Hamas have agreed to comply with Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan -- at least partially. But as of now, many questions are left unanswered.

4 factors stand out among many others -- Security guarantees, Israeli withdrawal, post-war governance and disarmament.

Trump's plan demands that Hamas lay down its arms -- a point that has long been a red line for the Palestinian group.

That brings us to the next one : security guarantees. If Hamas does agree to surrender weapons, it may request even more robust assurances that Israel would not restart its attacks. It has previously rejected calls to completely disarm.

Post-war governance also may be a contentious area. The current plan talks about establishing a temporary 'Board of Peace'-- but does not say who will be the members or what happens when it dissolves.

Israel has stayed silent on the establishment of International Stabilization Force, as suggest in the plan. This would mean the IDF would have to withdraw further from the current lines -- an condition it is yet to agree on.

Israel previously said "all parties" had signed the first phase of a ceasefire agreement, adding that Hamas freeing the captives would "bring the end to this war".

The accord in Egypt follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, who said he planned to leave on Sunday for the Middle East.

The Israeli government had said the ceasefire was to take hold within 24 hours of meetings on Thursday to approve the deal, under which the military should eventually withdraw from Gaza.

And in a statement early on Friday, Netanyahu's office said the government had "approved the framework for the release of all the hostages -- both the living and the deceased".

Despite celebrations in Israel and Gaza and a flood of messages from world leaders hailing the deal, numerous issues remain unsettled.

Trump said the issue of Hamas surrendering its weapons would be addressed in the second phase of the peace plan.

"There will be disarming," he told reporters, adding there would also be "pullbacks" by Israeli forces.

Senior US officials said a military team of 200 people, led by US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper, would be deployed in the Middle East to "oversee" the truce.

One official said Egyptian, Qatari, Turkish and probably Emirati military officials would be embedded in the team. A second official said "no US troops are intended to go into Gaza".