Israeli forces retreated on Sunday from the key corridors that divide the Gaza Strip, leaving almost all of their territory calling for a tenuous ceasefire with Hamas ahead of long-term negotiations.
When the Israeli government sent a delegation to Qatar over the weekend to discuss the next group of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and sent a delegation to Qatar to be released in the early stages of the ceasefire agreement. The departure of the troops from the Neszarim Corridor of Gaza has come. The moon and ongoing. It took away the three Israeli hostages released on Saturday, gaying public comparisons with Holocaust victims, and putting new pressure on negotiations.
In a statement Sunday, Israeli forces said they were “investigating an agreement” to allow the troops to leave the corridor and continue to return to northern Gaza.
Two Israeli military officials and Gaza soldiers said they were not allowed to publicly discuss the situation, or by name, that the troops had already left the Netzarim corridor by Sunday morning.
Hamas also said that Israeli forces have left the Netzarim corridor, and in a statement it was “a victory over the will of our people.”
The withdrawal from the corridor on Sunday means that Israeli forces in Gaza are currently limited to small lands in southern Gaza near the Egyptian border and buffer zones along the Israeli border.
Gaza's interior ministry warned Palestinians heading north on Sunday that their vehicles could still be inspected by foreign security contractors there to prevent weapons from being moved from the south.
“We are calling on citizens to be careful and adhere to working for safety in accordance with the mechanisms currently permitted,” the Home Office said in a statement Sunday.
Israeli forces ordered mass evacuations in North Gaza early in the war and patrol the corridors to prevent Palestinians from returning. Israeli forces had already partially withdrawn from the Neszarim Corridor last month, with foreign contractors filling the void.
A complete withdrawal from the corridor was necessary to complete the war in the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire contract (now at the halfway point, and to proceed to the next phase of the transaction, Gaza.
Over the past week, the agreement for the next stage could involve the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza after President Trump said he could take over Gaza and change it. An important new pitfall has emerged to reach. By relocating Palestinian residents, the “Rivera of the Middle East” was created.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry again rejected the proposal, repeating that a lasting peace agreement cannot be reached without creating a sovereign Palestinian state.
The debilitating appearance of the three Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday was Israeli widespread Israeli state that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not act quickly enough to ensure the release of them or others. It promoted concerns. Within the prisoners of war, proceed to the second phase of the transaction.
However, despite the weekend meeting in Qatar, little and no progress is expected in negotiating the next stage until Netanyahu convenes a meeting of his top security personnel in the coming days. Not there.
In an interview on Saturday in Washington, where he met with the Trump administration, Netanyahu said Hamas, not him, was to blame for the hostage conditions. He predicted that at least half a dozen hostages will be released by next weekend.
“Gaza has three war purposes,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News. “One will destroy Hamas' troops and govern its capabilities. The second will take all hostages. The third will make sure Gaza will never pose a threat to Israel again. And I'm committed to achieving all three.”
Even as Israeli forces left the main corridors of Gaza, they continued raids and patrols on the occupied West Bank. Palestinian health officials said at least two people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were killed in Noor al-Shamz refugee camp in Tarkham. The Israeli military did not comment on the casualties.
Hiba Yazbek and Gabby Sobelman contributed the report.
