Israeli troops withdraw from the Netzarim corridor in Gaza

Israel’s army retired on Sunday from a key corridor that divided the Gaza Strip, leaving almost the entire north of the territory as required by a high fire with Hamas before any negotiation for a more durable agreement.

The departure of the military of the Netzarim corridor in Gaza occurred when the Israeli government sent a delegation to Qatar during the weekend to discuss the next group of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released during the initial phase of the ceasefire agreement , that the last one entered into force. month and is ongoing. The apparitions of three Israeli hostages that were released on Saturday, fueling public comparisons with the victims of the Holocaust, accumulated a new pressure on the negotiations.

In a statement on Sunday, the Israeli army said the troops were “implementing the agreement” to leave the corridor and allow hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to continue returning home in northern Gaza.

Two Israeli military officials and a soldier in Gaza who were not authorized to discuss the situation publicly or by their name, the troops had already left the Netzarim corridor on Sunday morning.

Hamas also said that Israeli troops had moved away from the Netzarim corridor, saying in a statement that it was “a victory for the will of our people.”

The corridor’s withdrawal means that the presence of Israeli troops in Gaza is now limited mainly to a small splinter in southern Gaza, near the Egyptian border, and a buffer zone along the Israeli border.

The Ministry of Interior of Gaza alerted the Palestinians who were heading north on Sunday that their vehicles could still be inspected by foreign security contractors there to prevent weapons from transferring from the south.

“We make citizens be careful and adhere to move according to the mechanism currently allowed for their safety,” said the Interior Ministry in a statement on Sunday.

The Israeli army had ordered a massive evacuation in northern Gaza in the first days of the war and patrolled the corridor, partly to prevent the Palestinians from returning. Israeli troops had already partially retired from the Netzarim corridor last month, leaving foreign contractors to fill the void.

Its complete withdrawal of the corridor was required by virtue of the first 42 -day phase of the high fire agreement, which is now at the midpoint, and it is necessary to advance to the next stage of the agreement to end the war on the war . Loop.

New significant traps to reach an agreement for the next phase, which could imply a complete Israeli military withdrawal from all over Gaza, emerged during the past week, however, after President Trump said that the United States could take care of Gaza and Turn it into the “Rivera del Middle East” by relocating its Palestinian residents.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia again rejected the proposal, repeating that no lasting peace agreement could be reached without creating a sovereign Palestinian state, a diplomatic objective for generations, but that officials and experts now say that It is probably almost impossible to achieve.

The demacred appearance of three Israeli hostages who were released by Hamas on Saturday has also stimulated a generalized concern in Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not acted quickly enough to guarantee the release of his or others, increasing the pressure on the Israeli government to bring the rest of the captives at home and advance to the second phase of an agreement.

But despite the weekend meetings in Qatar, little was expected or no progress in the negotiation of the next stage until Mr. Netanyahu calls a meeting of his senior security officials in the next few days.

In an interview on Saturday in Washington, where he had met with the Trump administration, Mr. Netanyahu said that Hamas, not him, was to blame for the conditions of the hostages. He predicted that at least half a dozen hostages would be launched at the end of next week.

“We have three war targets in Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a Interview with Fox News. “One, destroys the military and government capabilities of Hamas. Two, take out all hostages. Three, make sure Gaza never represents a threat to Israel again. And I am committed to achieving all three. “

Even when Israeli troops left the key corridor in Gaza, they continued raids and patrols in occupied West Bank. Palestinian health officials there they said that at least two people, including a woman who had eight months pregnant, were killed in the Nour al-Shams refugee field in Tulkarm. The Israeli army did not comment on any victim.

Yazbek error and Gabby Sobelman Contributed reports.