Israeli army withdraws from Netzarim axis in Gaza
The Israeli occupation army began withdrawing from the Netzarim axis in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday night – Sunday, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. Scenes showed the occupation soldiers burning military equipment during their withdrawal.
Israeli media reported that the Israeli army will begin the withdrawal process from the axis at 6:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, according to understandings stipulating that the withdrawal process will be completed on the 22nd day from the start of the agreement.
The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said on Saturday that the Israeli occupation army is expected to withdraw completely from the Netzarim axis in the middle of the Gaza Strip tonight, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, after a year and three months of controlling it during the ground war on the besieged Strip.
According to the newspaper, the sites that will be evacuated tonight are located in a section east of Salah al-Din Road, which means that from now on the Israeli army will not have any forces in the northern Gaza Strip except for the forces of the 162nd Division, which at the same time completed its deployment in the buffer zone near the border.
The newspaper said that the Netzarim axis is considered one of the symbols of the occupation army’s maneuvers in the Gaza Strip, and an important element in the settlers’ aspirations to return and settle in the northern Gaza Strip, where the settlers held mass events at the entrance to the axis, which constitutes an outlet for them to different areas in the region.
About two weeks ago, the occupation army withdrew from parts of the Netzarim axis to allow the return of displaced Palestinians from the south of the Gaza Strip to its north, under the truce deal. Indeed, hundreds of thousands of displaced people returned in a majestic scene.
The occupation army had established the Netzarim axis, extending from Kibbutz Be’eri in the Gaza envelope to the Mediterranean Sea, with a length of 8 kilometers and a width of 7 kilometers, with the aim of isolating the north of the Strip from its center and south, and securing the movements of its forces between the military concentration areas.
The axis is known in Israel as the center of military operations that followed the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in October 2023, where it played a major role in dividing the Strip geographically and socially, leading to the isolation of thousands of families and the exacerbation of the humanitarian situation in the northern areas.
In a video clip broadcast by the Israeli Channel 12, an officer in the occupation army appeared instructing his forces to withdraw from the axis, indicating that the army will return soon.
The ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza went into effect on January 19, and includes three stages, each lasting 42 days. During the first, negotiations will be held to start a second stage, then a third, with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.
