TEL AVIV: A new benchmark was reached Sunday in the tenuous Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza, with Israeli troops withdrawing from the Netzarim corridor, a narrow strip of land that bisects the territory.
It allowed more Palestinians to return to the northern sector where they once lived, but much of the land has been leveled by 15 months of fighting.
Cars heaped with belongings, including water tanks and suitcases, were seen heading north through a road that crosses the six-kilometer Netzarim.
Under the truce, Israel was required to allow the cars to cross through uninspected, and there did not appear to be troops in the vicinity of the road.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanoua said the withdrawal showed Hamas had “forced the enemy to submit to our demands” and that it thwarted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s illusion of achieving total victory.”
Israeli officials did not disclose how many soldiers withdrew or to where. Troops currently remain along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt and a full withdrawal is expected to be negotiated in a later stage of the initial 42-day ceasefire that extends into early March.
But almost no progress has been made in negotiating an extension of the truce, which is supposed to lead to the release of more hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator in talks between the sides, but the mission included low-level officials.
The Israeli leader is also expected to convene a meeting of key Cabinet ministers this week to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire, the extension of which is not guaranteed.
(VOA)
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