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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip over the night of February 8 and 9 in line with the ceasefire-hostage deal with the Hamas Movement.
The corridor, which split the Gaza Strip down the middle, was located just south of Gaza City and stretched from the Gaza–Israel border to the Mediterranean Sea. It was named for the site of the former Israeli settlement that it includes.
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An official from Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry told AFP that “Israeli forces have dismantled their positions and military posts and completely withdrawn their tanks from the Netzarim Corridor on Salah a-Din Road, allowing vehicles to pass freely in both directions.”
Commenting about the news of the withdrawal to the news agency, an unnamed Israeli security official said:
“We are preparing to implement the ceasefire agreement according to the guidelines of the political echelon.”
The withdrawal of the IDF allowed Palestinians in northern Gaza to cross the corridor heading south by vehicle.
Thousands of Palestinians were seen returning to the areas which were occupied by Israeli troops in the early days of the ground invasion of the Strip.
According to the ceasefire-hostage deal, on day 21 of the ceasefire, Israel was required to withdraw from the entire corridor and only maintain a presence in a buffer zone of up to around one kilometer along Gaza’s border with Israel.
The IDF continues to occupy the Philadelphi Corridor which lies along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Under the agreement, on day 50 of the ceasefire, Israel will need to complete its withdrawal from there.
As a part of the agreement, which was brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, Hamas has so far released 16 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many who were convicted of “terrorism” by Israel. It has also released five Thai hostages in a side deal.
The withdrawal of the IDF from the Netzarim Corridor represents a win for Hamas. Israel is also expected to honor its commitment under the agreement and withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor in time. However, this does not mean that the war is over.
Israel could resume operations against Hamas once the exchange of prisoners is over. The recent proposal of the U.S. President Donald Trump to resettle Gazans in other countries, namely Egypt and Jordan, indicates that Washington will be ok with such a move.
Trump doubled down on his proposal on February 9, saying that he is committed to the U.S. buying and owning Gaza, but could give sections of the Strip to other countries in the Middle East to help in the rebuilding effort. The president said that he will “turn Gaza into a prime location for future development.”
The proposal has far faced staunch resistance both regionally and internationally. Still, the U.S. has the means to pressure its Arab allies to implement it.
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and still these filthy jewish rats cry out in pain why they are somehow the victims and force this holo holo holo hoax narrative upon you what israel did in gaza is lock palestinians up into a open air prison and they genocided them by the thousands. its time to call these filthy jewish rats out and liberate all of palestine from these demons and everyone who stand in the way of this is the enemy and a traitor
the problem with israel is american aid. the american zionists persist with with the poorly thought out balfour agreement. it is likely the israeli zionists would have had enough sense to abandon israel long ago except for american money. yet america throws more and more money at the cruel racist zionists while destroying their own image around the world.