A Hamas official said Israeli troops completed their withdrawal on Sunday from a strategic road cutting through the Gaza Strip, part of a fragile truce deal that Israel said it was implementing.
As negotiations are set to begin on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war, Palestinians on Sunday were able to cross the Netzarim Corridor, where an Israeli checkpoint used to stand.
An official from the interior ministry said: "Israeli forces have dismantled their positions... and completely withdrawn their tanks from the Netzarim Corridor on Salaheddin Road, allowing vehicles to pass freely in both directions."
Famine has been mostly averted in Gaza as a surge of aid enters the territory, the United Nations humanitarian chief said Sunday. But he warned the threat could return quickly if the truce collapses.