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Israeli officials and Hamas said that the Israeli forces withdrew from a major corridor in Gaza on Sunday, that the recent commitment to a weak ceasefire is facing a significant test on whether aspects of the planned extension.
The shock of the Israelis added in the sight of three meager hostages on Saturday pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the truce instead of returning to fighting when the first stage of the ceasefire ends in early March.
It seems that Israel and Hamas have not made great progress in negotiating the second stage of the deal, which also aims to see more hostages. The talks were scheduled to start on February 3.
Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a major mediator, but it included low -level officials, which sparked speculation that he would not break out. Netanyahu, who returned to Israel on Sunday after an American visit to meet President Donald Trump, is expected to intend the cabinet ministers this week.
Israel used the six kilometers long, which separates northern and southern Gaza as a military zone during the 16 -month war, but no forces were seen in the vicinity on Sunday. With the start of the ceasefire last month, Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced to cross and return to the north.
The ceasefire is still fragile
The ceasefire, which started on January 19, has been held, which raised hopes that the war that led to seismic transformations in the Middle East could move towards an end.
But it is still fragile. On Sunday, the first respondents of the Civil Defense in Gaza said that three people were killed by Israeli fire, east of Gaza City. The Israeli army noticed “several times” after launching the warning footage and warning the Palestinians again against approaching its forces.
Cars accumulate with property heading north via a road crossing. Under the deal, Israel must allow cars to cross unexpected.
Israeli officials, who spoke on the condition that their identity was not disclosed because they were not authorized to discuss the forces of the forces with the media, did not mention the number of soldiers who withdrew. The forces remain along the Gaza border with Israel and Egypt.
Hamas spokesman, Abdul Latif Al -Qalai, said that the withdrawal of the forces showed that the armed group “forced the enemy to submit to our demands” and that he foiled “and they are Netanyahu to achieve complete victory.”
Israel said it would not agree to the full withdrawal of Gaza until Hamas’s military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas says it will not hand over the recent hostages until Israel removes all forces from the region.
During the first stage of the 42 -day ceasefire, Hamas gradually launching 33 Israeli hostages captured during October 7, 2023, as it raised the war in exchange for launching nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners and flooding of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The deal also says that the Israeli forces will retreat from the populated areas.
In the second stage, all the remaining hostages will be launched in exchange for the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and “sustainable calm”. But the details behind this are unclear.
On Sunday, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemned Netanyahu’s recent comment that the Palestinians can create their country there. She said that his statements “aim to turn attention from the successive crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are exposed to.”
On Sunday, Qatar described Netanyahu’s comment as “provocative” and a flagrant violation of international law.
The war in Gaza, which was sparked by the Hamas attack, which killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between fighters and non -arrivals in their number. Many lands have been blurred.
Violence in the West Bank
Violence has risen in the West Bank throughout the war and intensified in recent days with an Israeli military operation in the northern region.
On Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that two women, one of whom was eight months pregnant, was killed by the Israeli shooting in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli forces were carrying out an operation.
The ministry said that the shooting that resulted in the killing of a pregnant woman, Sondos Shalabi, and another woman, Raif Ashqar, occurred in the Nour Shams camp in urban areas, a pivotal point of Israeli operations against Palestinian militants.
The Israeli army said its police opened an investigation.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday the expansion of the operation, which started in Jenin several weeks ago. He said that Iran – allied with Hamas – was supposed to prevent a foothold in the West Bank.
