GAZA CITY: The Israeli navy accomplished its withdrawal from the Netzarim Hall on a key freeway in Gaza on Sunday as a part of an ongoing ceasefire deal, a Hamas official instructed AFP.
“Israeli forces have dismantled their positions and navy posts and fully withdrawn their tanks from the Netzarim Hall on Salaheddin Highway, permitting automobiles to move freely in each instructions,” the official from the Hamas-run inside ministry stated.
An AFP journalist on the scene stated that no Israeli forces had been current on Sunday.
The complete withdrawal of troops from the hall befell a day after Hamas and Israel carried out their fifth hostage-prisoner swap, during which three Israeli captives launched in change for 183 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Late Saturday, a senior Hamas official instructed AFP that, in line with the ceasefire deal, Israeli forces needed to withdraw from Salaheddin Highway after the fifth swap was carried out.
“Mediators knowledgeable Hamas on Friday night that Israeli forces would start withdrawing from Salaheddin highway on Sunday morning, dismantling the navy checkpoint and surrounding positions,” the official stated, including this may permit “free motion for civilians and automobiles”.
AFP is unable to independently confirm the main points of the ceasefire settlement as its textual content has not been made public.
Requested about Sunday’s withdrawal, An Israeli safety official, who requested anonymity, instructed AFP: “We’re getting ready to implement the ceasefire settlement in line with the rules of the political echelon.”
AFP journalists reported automobiles, buses, pickup vehicles and even donkey carts had been seen travelling on Salaheddin Highway from each the north and south.
In a major growth within the ceasefire deal, Israel reopened the freeway late final month, however solely to northbound visitors, allowing displaced Gazans to cross the Netzarim Hall to return to their properties within the territory’s north.
With the military’s withdrawal, these within the north can now additionally cross the hall heading south.
For the reason that warfare in Gaza started in October 2023, the Israeli navy had successfully minimize off the northern a part of the territory from the south by closely fortifying the hall.