The Israeli military said on Sunday it had killed several militants and arrested several wanted men in the West Bank town of Nur Shams, as part of an expanded military operation in the territory. Meanwhile, Israeli officials said their forces had withdrawn from a key Gaza corridor, part of Israel's commitments under a ceasefire deal with the Hamas militant group. While Sunday's development signaled that the deal was moving forward, the sides appeared to have made little progress in negotiating the second phase of the deal, which is intended to extend the ceasefire and lead to the release of more hostages.
The Israeli army has withdrawn from an area of Gaza, known as the "Netzarim" corridor that divided the territory in half, an action that was expected under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
This was confirmed by the Hamas militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. Later, an Israeli security source who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the Israeli army was withdrawing from its positions in central Gaza.
"Israeli forces had previously reduced their presence in that area," the Israeli official said.
Hamas celebrated the withdrawal as a victory, and their forces were deployed in the area to manage the flow of Palestinians crossing.
From the first months of the war, Israeli forces were deployed in the 6.5 km long corridor south of Gaza City that stretches from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
Thousands of Palestinians have passed through the corridor in recent weeks, returning to their homes in the north from southern Gaza, where they had taken refuge during the war.
Former US soldiers employed as private contractors have been deployed to inspect vehicles passing through the corridor in recent weeks following the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of war.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attack, in which 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and over 250 were taken hostage.
More than 46,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks, according to Palestinian health authorities run by the militant group Hamas, which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians./ Voice of America
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