Israeli forces have begun withdrawing from a key Gaza corridor, part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas that is moving ahead, an Israeli official said. Israel agreed as part of the truce to remove its forces from the Netzarim corridor, a strip of land that bisects northern Gaza from the south.

More than 100 hostages were released during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. About 80 more hostages are still in Gaza, at least a third of them believed dead. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the 33 to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire are dead.

Hamas-led militants have released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli civilian men held for the past 16 months and Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners as part of a fragile agreement that has paused the war in the Gaza Strip.