The Israeli military has announced a ceasefire in Gaza is now in effect.

As part of the deal, soldiers from Israel's Defense Forces in Gaza have been moving back to an agreed initial withdrawal line, after the Israel's Government approved the agreement last night.

In his first public address since the ceasefire came into effect, Israel's Prime Minister said soldiers will remain in Gaza to keep pressure on Hamas until the group disarms.

Benjamin Netanyahu said all Palestinian hostages will be returned in the coming days, and they're expecting the return of Israeli hostages in the next 72 hours.

Both sides have also agreed to significantly increasing deliveries of humanitarian aid to the strip to up to 600 vehicles a day.

UNICEF spokesperson in Gaza, James Elder, has criticised the IDF for continuing its attacks in Gaza this week, while negotiating teams were meeting in Egypt to agree a ceasefire and peace deal.

"How many unnecessary deaths of children and families have we seen? Thousands, is the simple answer.

"It's the question from, that moment, a week ago on the Saturday, all the way up until overnight, as the bombs landed and as the quadcopters shot people.

"What possibly military objective was there at that point?"