TEL AVIV/GAZA (dpa-AFX) – According to media reports, the first Israeli troops withdrew from the Gaza Strip on Friday night. In some areas of the coastal strip, the withdrawal was accompanied by artillery fire and air strikes to secure the troops, the Times of Israel reported. The withdrawal to the demarcation lines agreed in the Gaza peace plan continued in the morning, while some troops had completely left the Gaza Strip.
According to the agreement, troops will withdraw within 24 hours of the Israeli Cabinet’s approval of the ceasefire and will then have control of 53 percent of the coastal strip in the buffer zones near the border.
There was no information from the military itself about the troop withdrawal. Israeli military correspondents posted images and videos on social platforms of tank columns retreating from the Gaza Strip and soldiers celebrating.
Shortly before the Israeli cabinet approved the ceasefire on Friday night, a 26-year-old Israeli soldier was killed by a sniper in the north of the Gaza Strip, according to a military spokesman. This means the number of soldiers killed since the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 has risen to 914./czy/DP/mis