By. BBC 10/02/2025
BBC news shows that Israeli forces have withdrawn from the Netzarim Corridor, a military zone that cuts the north from the south of the Gaza Strip.
As the BBC points out, the hundreds of Palestinians in cars and on carts laden with mattresses and other goods began returning to northern Gaza following the pull-out – often to scenes of utter destruction.
The Israeli withdrawal is in line with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement of 19 January under which 16 Israeli hostages and 566 Palestinian prisoners have so far been freed.
By the end of the first stage of the ceasefire in three weeks’ time, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are expected to have been freed. Israel says eight of the 33 are dead.
At least 48,189 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. About two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israel’s attacks, the UN says.
On Sunday (09), crowds of Palestinians were seen traversing the Netzarim Corridor. They are mostly moving north to see what had happened to their abandoned homes.
“What we saw was a catastrophe, horrific destruction. The [Israeli] occupation destroyed all the homes, shops, farms, mosques, universities and the courthouse,” Osama Abu Kamil, a resident of al-Maghraqa just north of Netzarim, has told the AFP news agency.
Israeli forces partially withdrew from the west of the corridor last month and the first Palestinians – pedestrians – were allowed to walk along the coastal Rashid Street as they crossed into northern Gaza.
Those on vehicles have to use Salah al-Din Street and undergo screening for weapons by US and Egyptian security contractors.
The Israel Defence Forces have not officially commented on Sunday’s withdrawal from the eastern part of the corridor, which will leave it in control of Gaza’s borders, but not the road that had cut it in half.
The Haaretz newspaper says the Hamas-run Gaza interior ministry has been urging people to “exercise caution and adhere to the existing movement guidelines for their safety”.