Militant Group Hamas Confirms Israel's Military Withdrawal From Gaza's Netzarim Corridor

Israeli Military in Gaza Strip, Palestine (Source: IDF)

JAKARTA - Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Sunday the Israeli military had withdrawn from the Gaza region known as the Netzarim Corridor which divides the enclave.

The awaited withdrawal is based on a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.

An Israeli security source, who asked for his identity to be kept secret because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed the Israeli military had withdrawn from its position in central Gaza.

Hamas celebrated the withdrawal as a victory and Hamas-led police forces were deployed to the area to regulate the flow of Palestinians crossing. The Israeli military has not yet commented.

Reuters footage shows what looks like an Israeli military vehicle moving away from the coast and towards the Israeli border.

"Israeli troops have dismantled their military positions and posts and pulled their tanks completely from the Netzarim Corridor on Jalan Salah-a-din, so that vehicles can pass freely in both directions", said an official from Hamas-run interior ministry, reported The Times of Israel from AFP.

Since the early months of war, Israeli forces have occupied a corridor about 4 miles (6 km) south of Gaza City that stretches from Israel's borders to the Mediterranean Sea.

Former American soldiers employed as private contractors have been deployed to inspect vehicles passing through the corridor in recent weeks, following a ceasefire agreement held on January 19 after more than 15 months of war.

The corridor separates the northern community of Gaza, including its largest metropolitan area, from the south.

Thousands of Palestinians have flowed through the corridor in recent weeks, returning to their homes north of southern Gaza where they seek refuge from war.

Several people crossing have described their surprise, after seeing the destruction of society and finding what they said were human remains in the area where Israeli forces had been withdrawn.

It is known that the latest conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, after a Palestinian militant group led by Hamas attacked Israel's southern region, killing 1,200 people and 250 others being held hostage.

On Sunday, media sources in Gaza reported that the death toll from Palestine since the latest conflict broke out had reached 48,189 people, while 111,640 people were injured, with thousands of victims still trapped under the rubble, quoted from WAFA.