A Hamas official said Israeli troops on Sunday completed their withdrawal from a strategic road bisecting the Gaza Strip, part of a fragile truce deal that Israel said it was implementing.
"Israeli forces have dismantled their positions and military posts and completely withdrawn their tanks from the Netzarim Corridor on Salaheddin Road, allowing vehicles to pass freely in both directions," an official from the Hamas-run interior ministry said.
An AFP journalist in the Netzarim area, which controls key access points between the territory's north and south, said that no Israeli forces were present on Sunday.
AFP journalists saw cars, buses, pickup trucks, and donkey carts travelling on Salaheddin Road from both the north and south, crossing the Netzarim Corridor where an Israeli checkpoint used to stand.
According to a senior Hamas official, the Israeli withdrawal from Netzarim had been scheduled for Sunday under the terms of a truce that took effect on January 19, after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.
AFP is unable to independently verify the details of the ceasefire agreement as its text has not been made public.
Asked about Sunday's withdrawal, an Israeli security official, who requested anonymity, told AFP: "We are preparing to implement the ceasefire agreement according to the guidelines of the political echelon."
The war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and after months of fruitless negotiations, a ceasefire was sealed in the lead-up to US President Donald Trump's inauguration for a second term.
By Jay Deshmukh, AFP
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