TEL AVIV—The Israeli military began a full withdrawal from a sprawling security zone within the central Gaza Strip as part of a cease-fire agreement with Hamas, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
The withdrawal, which began overnight between Saturday and Sunday, leaves Israel with a small footprint inside the enclave as the two sides look toward extending the deal that would end the war and release the remaining Israeli hostages.
Leaving the east-west Netzarim corridor , which was used by Israeli forces to divide the territory, control the population’s movements, and facilitate troop movements around the enclave, removes a bargaining chip for Israel as it prepares to enter into the next phase of cease-fire talks. During the war, Palestinians saw the expanding footprint of the corridor as evidence that Israel was planning a long-term occupation of Gaza.
Israeli military analysts say the military could retake the territory if it chose to do so.
Israel’s military hasn’t announced the withdrawal. “We are preparing to implement the agreement according to the guidelines of the political echelon,” said an Israeli security official, referring to the terms of the agreement that require Israeli troops to withdraw from the Netzarim corridor by Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military was expanding a weekslong counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank. Palestinian officials said a pregnant woman was among those killed on Sunday by the Israeli military. The Israeli military said it had opened a criminal investigation into her killing.
The operation began in the refugee camp of Jenin in late January and was later expanded to the city of Tulkarem and, on Sunday, to the nearby refugee camp of Nur Shams . The campaign has been highly destructive, with Israeli troops using controlled demolitions to raze buildings inside densely packed neighborhoods.
Palestinians on Sunday began moving through areas of Gaza that Israel had just withdrawn from. Three were killed and several injured after Israeli forces opened fire on a group of Palestinians approaching the Israeli border east of Gaza City, Gaza’s Civil Defense said. Israel’s military said that the crowd was several hundred meters from its troops and that they moved vehicles and fired warning shots in their direction.
The negotiations over the second phase of the cease-fire deal come as Hamas and Arab leaders across the region have rejected President Trump’s proposal to move Gazans out of the enclave to facilitate its rebuilding.
Israel created the east-west Netzarim corridor quickly after beginning its ground invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks led by Hamas that started the war.
Palestinians wait to cross through a checkpoint run by U.S. and Egyptian security contractors after Israeli forces withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor, allowing people to travel in both directions between southern and northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, near Gaza City, February 9, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The route bisects northern and southern Gaza, and Israel has used its control of the corridor to prevent Palestinians from returning to their homes in the north throughout the war. It also prevented Hamas from moving freely during the war.
The corridor has long been seen by analysts and officials in Israel as a key piece of leverage for Israel to use in hostage talks with Hamas .
Hamas said Sunday that the withdrawal “shattered the illusions” of Israel’s leadership.
Israel still maintains a troop presence along the border between Gaza and Egypt, and is currently keeping troops on the periphery of the enclave, which Israel has turned into a buffer zone .
Israel’s military has told the government that it can afford to withdraw from these strategic points to facilitate the release of hostages because it can retake them.
The withdrawal from the corridor and return of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to northern Gaza “is completely reversible within a few days, depending on how aggressive Israel is,” said former deputy commander of Israel’s Gaza Division Amir Avivi .
Israel Ziv, who also once commanded the Gaza Division, agreed Israel could retake the corridor in just a few hours. He added that the route wasn’t that important for the military and that its real strategic importance was as leverage in negotiations with Hamas.
Israel has been slowly widening the corridor over the past 16 months, destroying buildings and farmlands within 9 miles either side of the main route. Mainly using mobile trailers, Israel created two large military bases along the corridor as well as a handful of outposts.
Israel left its base on the Mediterranean coast two weeks ago to allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza. On Sunday, Israel also withdrew from a more central base that sat along Gaza’s main north-south artery, Salah-al-Din road, and Palestinians began using the route.
Palestinians accuse Israel of unnecessary destruction of land and property surrounding the Netzarim corridor, while Israel said it was done for the safety of soldiers using the route. Palestinians approaching the vast security zone were in danger of being killed while Israeli troops were stationed there.
Palestinians make their way after Israeli forces withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor, allowing people to travel in both directions between southern and northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, near Gaza City, February 9, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Write to Dov Lieber at dov.lieber@wsj.com
