Israeli troops have withdrawn from the Netzarim Corridor – a military zone cutting off the north of the Gaza Strip from the south.
Hundreds of Palestinians in cars and on carts laden with mattresses and other goods began returning to northern Gaza following the pull-out – often to scenes of utter destruction.
The Israeli withdrawal is in line with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement of 19 January under which 16 Israeli hostages and 566 Palestinian prisoners have so far been freed.
By the end of the first stage of the ceasefire in three weeks, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are expected to have been freed. Israel says eight of the 33 are dead.
Hamas seized 251 hostages and killed about 1,200 people when it attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, triggering the Gaza war.
At least 48,189 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
About two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israel’s attacks, the UN says.
On Sunday, crowds of Palestinians were seen traversing the Netzarim Corridor – mostly moving north – after the Israeli withdrawal.
Hamas said in a statement that Israeli forces had fully withdrawn from the corridor, a six-kilometer strip of land that separates the north of the strip from its south and stretches from the Israel-Gaza border to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had occupied the corridor since the early days of its war in Gaza.
“The withdrawal of the Zionist occupation army from the Netzarim axis is a victory for the will of our people,” a Hamas statement issued Sunday said.
Israel had used the corridor as a zone of occupation during its 15-month assault on the strip. Its troops began withdrawing from Netzarim Corridor two weeks ago as part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced in the south have been able to cross Netzarim to return to their homes in the heavily bombarded north of Gaza.
Israel retains its presence along Gaza’s borders with Egypt and Israel.
A checkpoint run by Egyptian and Qatari officials – countries which play a mediator role between the warring sides – remains at Netzarim.
Israel’s complete withdrawal from Netzarim is part of its commitment to the fragile ceasefire and hostage agreement, which on Saturday saw the release of another three hostages – bringing the number released so far to 16 out of a total of 33 people promised to be released at staggered intervals during this stage.
Hours after the withdrawal, Israeli forces opened fire on civilians near Nahal Oz, an Israeli kibbutz that lies close to the border with the Gaza Strip, Palestinian authorities said.
Three people were killed and others wounded in the incident, Gaza’s Civil Defense said.
The IDF said it fired warning shots towards “suspects” who had approached the border in northern Gaza, and that “several hits were identified,” without acknowledging whether any civilians were killed.
About 700,000 residents of northern Gaza fled to southern areas at the start of the war, when the Israeli military issued mass evacuation orders before launching a ground invasion of the Palestinian territory.
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