GAZA CITY / TEL AVIV: The Israeli army has begun a phased withdrawal from several areas of the Gaza Strip, in line with the first stage of a US-brokered ceasefire plan announced by President Donald Trump earlier this week, Israeli media reported on Friday.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, the withdrawal will be completed within 24 hours as troops reposition “to the yellow line” — the boundary agreed upon between Israel and Hamas under the deal. Forces are reportedly pulling eastward from Rafah and Khan Yunis in the south, and from northern areas of the Gaza Strip, moving closer to Israel’s border.
“Over the next 24 hours, the Israeli army will complete its withdrawal from certain areas inside the Gaza Strip to the yellow line, as agreed in the Trump plan between Israel and Hamas,” Israeli Channel 12 said, adding: “The forces are expected to withdraw eastward from Rafah and Khan Yunis (south) and from areas north of the Gaza Strip and approach the border with the State of Israel.”
The agreement, unveiled early Thursday by President Trump, followed four days of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Egypt’s resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with participation from Türkiye, Qatar, and Egypt. The deal’s first phase includes a ceasefire, prisoner exchanges, and humanitarian access to Gaza.
Since October 2023, Israeli military operations have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians, the vast majority of them women and children, leaving the coastal enclave devastated and largely uninhabitable.
