The private newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Saturday evening that the Israeli occupation army had withdrawn "completely" from its last positions on the Netzarim axis, which separates the northern Gaza Strip from its southern part, after more than fifteen months of occupation.

According to the newspaper, this step comes within the framework of the first phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza, which includes the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the Netzarim axis located in the middle of the Strip.

Yedioth Ahronoth indicated that the sites to be evacuated are located east of Salah al-Din Road, which means that the Israeli occupation army will not maintain any presence in the central and northern Gaza Strip, except for the forces of the 162nd Division, which were deployed along the buffer zone near the border.

According to the newspaper, the Israeli military presence will remain limited for the time being to the Philadelphi Corridor in southern Gaza.

For his part, Hamas political bureau member and former health minister in Gaza, Basem Naim, told Agence France-Presse on Saturday that Israel's "failure to implement" all the terms of the truce agreement puts the ceasefire in Gaza at risk of collapse, while talks on its second phase have not yet begun.

Naim warned that the agreement was in danger, but said the Palestinian movement did not want to return to war. He added: "What we see of procrastination and lack of commitment in implementing the first phase and trying to create a political, international, diplomatic and media environment to pressure Palestinian negotiators when it enters the second phase, certainly puts this agreement in danger, and thus it may stop and collapse."

He continued: "Returning to war is certainly not our wish or decision, but if any party decides to return to war, then certainly our Palestinian people, who have endured for 15 months and carry in their hearts the spirit of resistance, will be prepared to respond appropriately."

The Hamas leader said: "We expected the second phase of the talks to begin last Monday. We are still ready to start, but the occupation is stalling. So far, I do not have a specific date for the start of the negotiation process. It may begin in the coming days."

According to the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, which entered into force on January 19, by the twenty-second day of the implementation of the agreement, the Israeli occupation forces will withdraw from central Gaza, including the Netzarim axis and Kuwait Roundabout, with the complete dismantling of military installations.

The agreement also includes granting Palestinians freedom of movement in all areas of the Strip and the continued return of displaced persons to their places of residence.

About two weeks ago, a week after the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli occupation army began gradually withdrawing its forces from the Netzarim axis, which led to the return of more than half a million Palestinians from the south and center of the Strip to its north.

With American support, between October 7, 2023 and January 19, 2025, Israel committed genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 159,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

On January 19, a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel came into effect. It includes three stages, each lasting 42 days, and negotiations are underway during the first to begin the second and third, with the mediation of Egypt and Qatar and the support of the United States.