Israeli Forces Pulling Back From Several Areas: Gaza Civil Defence

Nuseyrat: Gaza’s civil defense agency said on Friday that Israeli forces have begun to withdraw from parts of the area, especially Gaza City and Khan Younis.

“Israeli forces have withdrawn from various parts of Gaza city,” said Mohammed al-Mughayyir, a senior official at the agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas authority.

Among the areas where the troops were withdrawn were Tel al-Hawa and Al-Shati camp, which have been the scene of intense Israeli air and land operations in recent weeks.

Mughayyir also said that Israeli military vehicles had been withdrawn from parts of the southern city of Khan Younis.

Residents in various parts of the Gaza Strip also told AFP that the Israeli army appeared to have withdrawn from positions they held on Thursday.

Israeli government spokesman Shosh Bedrosian told reporters on Thursday that the Israeli military will be redeployed to the so-called Yellow Line as it gradually withdraws under a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.

During this first part of the withdrawal process, the army will still hold approximately 53 percent of the Gaza Strip.

low flying jets

Mughayyir said that the clashes continued.

“The gunshots have never stopped so far. The Israeli army also targeted the Gaza municipality teams in the north of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood (of Gaza City),” Mughayyir said, adding that a city employee was killed by Israeli fire.

Mughayyir told AFP that another person was killed by Israeli fire in Khan Younis on Friday.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said Israeli warplanes flew low over Gaza on Friday.

Bassal said his teams reported airstrikes and artillery shelling in the north, particularly in Gaza City, where the Israeli army launched a major offensive before the ceasefire.

He said that Israeli forces also threw smoke bombs at Khan Younis.

An AFP video correspondent covering Gaza from Israel reported that large clouds of smoke and dust rose over northern Gaza on Friday morning.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said it was checking reports of bombardment on Gaza.

On Friday, the military said its southern command units were “in the midst of adjusting their operational positions in the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said early Friday that the government had approved the framework of the hostage release agreement with Hamas.