5 things about Gaza's key Netzarim Corridor from where Israel has fully withdrawn

Israeli forces began withdrawing from a key Gaza corridor on Sunday, Israeli officials said, part of Israel’s commitments under a tenuous ceasefire deal with Hamas.

“Israeli forces have dismantled their positions and military posts and completely withdrawn their tanks from the Netzarim Corridor on Salaheddin Road, allowing vehicles to pass freely in both directions,” an official from the Hamas-run interior ministry said.

At the start of the ceasefire last month, Israel had begun allowing Palestinians to cross Netzarim to head to their homes in the war-battered north, sending hundreds of thousands streaming across Gaza on foot and by car.

In Sunday, too, cars, buses, pickup trucks and donkey carts were seen travelling on Salaheddin Road from both the north and south, crossing the Netzarim Corridor.

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Here are 5 things that make the Netzarim Corridor so special:

2. Strategic location: The Netzarim Corridor is just a 6-kilometre-long stretch that controls key access points between Gaza’s north and south. The corridor stretches from the Israeli border in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

3. Israel’s wartime military zone: According to a report by Washington Post, Israel had established three forward operating bases in the corridor between March and May 2024. The Israeli Defence Forces used this strip of land as a military zone during the 15-month war that began on October 7, 2023.

4. **IDF’s management of the corridor:**The corridor was managed by various IDF divisions that rotated in and out. The 99th and 252nd divisions were the primary units involved in this rotation. They were typically assigned two brigades: one infantry brigade and one armored brigade to operate in the area.

5. Value as leverage in negotiations: The control of the corridor is believed to have provided the Israeli military with leverage in negotiations and important flexibility in deploying troops quickly throughout the enclave. It also enabled the IDF to regulate the flow of aid and manage the movement of displaced Palestinians– which they said was necessary to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping.

6. Speculation due to the Netzarim Corridor: During the war, there were numerous discussions about the IDF’s potential long-term presence in the region. According to the Jerusalem Post, some speculated that Gaza could become similar to the West Bank, with a permanent IDF presence in certain areas like the Netzarim Corridor. However, these speculations did not come to fruition, as Israel agreed to withdraw from the corridor as part of the ceasefire deal.

With inputs from agencies