Al-Duwairi: Israel’s Netzarim Withdrawal is a Retreat, a Strategic Shift

Military strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi said the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from the Netzarim axis represents a strategic shift in battle with its plan to divide and control the Gaza Strip from its north failing.

Al-Duwairi explained the Israeli occupation army tried to establish a permanent presence in the area but was forced to retreat under the pressure of battles and political agreements.

Speaking on Al Jazeera, Al-Duwairi added the occupation expanded the Netzarim axis to reach a width of 80 kilometers and a depth of between 6.5 and 7 kilometers, and established four main sites supported by four other supporting sites.

He pointed out although the occupation army began to establish infrastructure to enhance the sustainability of its presence, most of its facilities were dismantled, reflecting its awareness of the possibility of withdrawal at any moment.

He explained the recent agreement imposes on it to withdraw from Netzarim permanently. As well the military expert stressed that Israel will neither be able to remain in the Philadelphi Corridor or the buffer zone later.

A different reality


He pointed out that the Israeli plan was initially aimed at controlling the northern areas of Gaza but the resistance made sure this didn’t happen and imposed a different reality which forced the Zionist army to recalculate.

Al-Duwairi indicated that the occupation may try to procrastinate or delay the implementation of the withdrawal, but in the end it is obliged to evacuate the site on the 22nd day of the deal.

Regarding the withdrawal, he explained this move will facilitate the movement of citizens, especially in light of the siege imposed by the occupation’s control of the corridor.

However, he stressed the most important thing is to restore sovereignty – even partially – to the Palestinians, indicating the current scene is radically different from the calculations of the occupation, which wanted to impose a new political reality.

He considered the withdrawal is not just a military step, but carries political and strategic dimensions, as it reflects the failure of the Israeli vision for Gaza and confirms the will of the resistance and negotiation to impose new equations on the ground.

The ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza went into effect on 19 January and includes three stages, each lasting 42 days. During the first, negotiations will be held to start a second stage, then a third, with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States according to Jo24.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Israel Continues to Target Children – UN Report

Israel continues to commit genocide and other atrocity crimes by deliberately targeting Palestinian children, a UN report said on Tuesday.

“Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank,” read the report published by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.

The commission said it had concluded last year that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and found that the intense scale and systematic nature of the Israeli military operations have continued, causing unprecedented death, injury and trauma among Palestinian children.

“The deliberate targeting of children is one of the key elements establishing genocidal intent of the Israeli authorities and security forces to destroy the Palestinian group, in whole or in part, in Gaza,” the commission said.

“The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the commission.

“Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law,” he added.

“Palestinian children have been arrested and subjected to torture and other severe forms of mistreatment in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, with no information on their whereabouts,” the commission said.

“Israeli security forces have also used sexual violence against children as part of the collective shaming and oppression, entrenched within a prolonged, ethnic, gendered, and intergenerational pattern of Israeli occupation and hostilities,” it added.

The report said Israel’s targeting of neonatal and maternity care centers in Gaza directly harmed the survival of newborns and Palestinians’ reproductive future, including increases in miscarriages, birth defects and lasting vulnerabilities among newborns.

“Starvation imposed by Israel through blockade and siege have further caused the death of Palestinian children and severely impacted the health of many others, depriving them of essential nutrition and increasing disease risks amid reduced immunization, food insecurity and destroyed health services,” it also said.

“Even if the bombs and guns fall silent in Gaza and West Bank, Palestinian children will not simply recover overnight,” Muralidhar said. “The destruction of their health, education and development is irreversible.”

“The protection, care and survival of Palestinian children are inseparable from the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination,” Muralidhar said. “By targeting children, Israel is attacking the very capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and to determine their future.”

The commission said it had identified Israeli military units responsible for killing and injuring Palestinian children and made recommendations to Israel and UN member states to ensure accountability.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have killed 1,021 Palestinians and injured 3,249 others since late 2025 in daily violations of the ceasefire in effect.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023 has killed 73,032 people, injured over 173,300 and caused massive destruction to about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure, with the United Nations estimating reconstruction costs at about $70 billion.

Since October 2023, West Bank cities and towns have seen near-daily Israeli raids, including arrests and home searches. The escalation by the Israeli army and occupiers has killed 1,173 Palestinians, wounded 12,666, led to the arrest of about 23,000 and displaced 33,000, according to official Palestinian figures. Anadolu

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