Greg Myrie

Some may be buried under rubble.

Israel told the United Nations it is reducing the amount of aid going into Gaza on Wednesday because it believes Hamas isn't doing enough to return the Israeli bodies.

Greg Myrie, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

The crowd kept chanting, thank you, Trump.

Thank you, Trump.

Some in the crowd had placards of the president.

They credit him for this ceasefire.

And this is particularly true among the hostage families and their many supporters.

They believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected earlier opportunities to end the war.

And it is clear that Trump put extensive pressure on Netanyahu and Hamas to accept this deal now.

The main road on Gaza's Mediterranean coast was absolutely clogged with Palestinian civilians heading north, hauling whatever belongings they could.

Many had been forced out of Gaza City recently when Israel announced a new ground defensive there.

They congregated in southern Gaza, and today, with the ceasefire, they turned around and headed back to Gaza City on foot, piled into trucks, some on donkey carts.

Israel has agreed to pull back in phases.

It will initially move out of places like Gaza City and other Palestinian population centers.

Now, they're eventually supposed to retreat to a buffer zone along the Gaza border, but still on the Gaza side of the border.

Hamas had always demanded a full withdrawal of Israeli troops, but they just didn't have the leverage in these negotiations.

With Israeli troops in Gaza, it wouldn't take much to restart hostilities.

So dozens of staffers at the National Security Council were abruptly dismissed on Friday afternoon. They were informed at 4.30 p.m. and told to leave by 5. This comes from sources who spoke with our NPR colleagues Tom Bowman and Franco Ordonez. Now, the White House has not commented, so we don't have details or know the precise motive, but attention is certainly focused on Marco Rubio.

So dozens of staffers at the National Security Council were abruptly dismissed on Friday afternoon. They were informed at 4.30 p.m. and told to leave by 5. This comes from sources who spoke with our NPR colleagues Tom Bowman and Franco Ordonez. Now, the White House has not commented, so we don't have details or know the precise motive, but attention is certainly focused on Marco Rubio.