Netzarim Corridor Archives - CrossFireArarbia

1000s of Palestinians Wait at Netzarim to Cross Into North Gaza

CrossFireArabia
January 26, 2025

Thousands of displaced Palestinians have been gathering at the closest point to the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza since Saturday, spending the entire night on the streets as they await a permit from the Israeli occupation to return to their homes in northern Gaza.

Women, children, and elderly people have been lining up along Al-Rashid Street (west), waiting for the Israeli military to permit them to begin streaming into northern Gaza. Meanwhile, vehicles filled with residents and their belongings are also waiting on Salah al-Din Street (east), where they will undergo searches before being allowed to cross into the northern areas.

The movement was expected to resume after Hamas handed over four Israeli soldiers as part of the ceasefire agreement on Saturday.

Aerial footage shows tens of thousands of Palestinians waiting to return to northern Gaza after months of displacement caused by bombardment and genocide.

Israel has not fulfilled its part of the deal so far and is preventing the displaced from crossing back to their homes. pic.twitter.com/A7IV9DOy5e
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) January 26, 2025

According to the agreement, the Israeli army is required to withdraw completely from west of the Netzarim axis, including the coastal Al-Rashid Street, to Salah al-Din Street in the east.

Under the deal, Israeli forces must dismantle military positions in the Netzarim area. Once completed, Palestinians would regain freedom of movement between Gaza’s north and south. Hamas sources confirmed this and said displaced Palestinians would be allowed to return to their homes unarmed. Humanitarian aid would also move freely via Al-Rashid Street.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamas said that Israel is delaying the ceasefire terms. In a statement, Hamas said, “The occupation continues to stall in implementing the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement by keeping Al-Rashid Street closed and blocking displaced civilians from returning north.”

Hamas warned Israel against further delays, holding it accountable for any disruptions to the agreement.

The ceasefire, which began on January 19, is set to last 42 days in its first phase. Egypt, Qatar, and the United States brokered the agreement.

From October 7, 2023, to January 19, 2025, Israel’s genocide in Gaza caused catastrophic losses. Over 158,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed or injured. More than 14,000 remain missing, making this one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters according to the Quds News Network.

Features

After 39 Years Israel Frees ‘Dean of Palestinian Prisoners’

CrossFireArabia
January 25, 2025

After 39 years of mistreatment and retaliation in Israeli jails, Mohammed Al-Tous, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner, was released on Saturday as part of the second batch under phase one of the Jan. 19 ceasefire agreement and prisoner exchange deal.

Al-Tous, nicknamed the “dean of Palestinian Prisoners,” hails from the village of Jab’a in Bethlehem, in the southern occupied West Bank. He has spent 39 years in Israeli prisons since his arrest in 1985.

Who is the dean of Palestinian Prisoners?

Mohammed Ahmed Abdul-Hamid Al-Tous, 69, is the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli detention. He was arrested in October 1985 and sentenced to life in prison for leading a group in carrying out military operations against Israeli military targets. He sustained severe injuries during his arrest.

Over the years, Al-Tous endured various forms of mistreatment and retaliation. In addition to the serious injuries he suffered during his arrest from Israeli gunfire and enduring lengthy and harsh interrogations, the Israeli forces demolished his family home three times.

Israel repeatedly refused to release Al-Tous in all prisoner exchange deals and release initiatives during his incarceration, including a group of veteran prisoners in 2014, in which he was listed, but Israel refused to release.

JUST IN: Muhammad Al-Tous had been released!

He was arrested when he was a child and had been detained for 40 years continuously.

He is the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner and spent 39 years in Israeli prisons.

He will be extradited to Egypt pic.twitter.com/Hs11sj7ljA
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) January 25, 2025

A year later, his wife’s health deteriorated, and she fell into a coma for a full year before passing away in 2015, without Al-Tous being able to bid her farewell.

Al-Tous is among the veteran prisoners detained before the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, a group that now numbers 21 prisoners following last year’s death of Walid Daqqa.

This group is joined by 11 re-arrested prisoners from the Gilad Shalit exchange deal of 2011, who had been imprisoned before the Oslo Accords, released in 2011, and then re-arrested in 2014, most notably Nael Barghouthi.

Prisoner exchange

Palestinian resistance group Hamas earlier Saturday handed over four female Israeli soldiers under a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.

Some 200 Palestinian prisoners were also released on Saturday in exchange for the four freed Israeli soldiers.

Television footage showed the arrival of 114 prisoners to the West Bank city of Ramallah from the Ofer Military Prison aboard three International Red Cross buses.

Sixteen prisoners, accompanied by Red Cross representatives, also arrived at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, to the warm welcome of thousands.

Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel also reported that two buses carrying 70 freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in Egypt under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The Prisoners’ Media Office said early Saturday that the freed prisoners include 121 who had been serving life sentences and 79 with lengthy sentences.

It added that 70 of those serving life sentences will be sent outside the Palestinian territories.

Under phase one of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel is now set to withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor area that separates northern Gaza from its south, allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

Ceasefire seeking permanent truce

The first six-week phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.

On day one of the ceasefire, Israel released 90 Palestinian detainees in return for three Israeli captives set free by Hamas.

The three-phase ceasefire agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza according to Anadolu.

The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of untold numbers of elderly people, women, and children.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

News

Amidst Hamas Fighters 4 Female Israeli Soldiers Release

CrossFireArabia
January 25, 2025

In a dramatic display of power, elite fighters from the Palestinian resistance group Hamas appeared with Israeli Tavor rifles during the handover of four female Israeli soldiers in Gaza City.

The rifles, reportedly seized during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israeli military bases and settlements near Gaza, were prominently featured on podium set up at Palestine Square in Gaza City to hand over the four soldiers.

“Hamas chose to include fighters from an elite unit carrying Tavor rifles from the Israeli army’s elite unit during the handover process,” Amir Bohbot, a military correspondent for the Israeli news web Walla, said, citing a military source.

“These rifles were most likely seized on Oct., 2023,” he added.

Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers early Saturday under the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.

The freed soldiers are members of the Israeli army’s surveillance unit at the Nahal Oz base.

The four freed soldiers wearing the Israeli military uniform smiled and waved on a stage set up at the square as they were transferred to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“The handover event organized by Hamas was meticulously planned and executed at Palestine Square in Gaza City,” the Israeli Channel 12 said.

“Hamas exploited this dramatic moment to convey propaganda messages, erecting a platform in the middle of the square with symbols of the Israeli army and the Shin Bet security service, along with a Hebrew headline: ‘Zionism will not win’.”

Message of superiority

The Israeli channel said long convoys of armed men from Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups streamed into the square since early morning.

“Activists carrying weapons and organization flags were positioned around the central platform in a pre-planned formation to create an image of victory for the cameras broadcasting the release of the captives to the entire world,” it added.

“The carefully chosen setting and decor – Israeli symbols and Hebrew inscriptions – show a planned effort by Hamas to turn the ceremony for the release of the female soldiers into a propaganda show,” the channel said.

“Hamas invested significant resources in designing the square, with the aim of conveying a message of control and superiority.

“The female soldiers were brought to the podium, where they held each other’s hands, smiled and waved,” the channel commented.

Some 200 Palestinian prisoners are also scheduled to be released on Saturday in exchange for the four freed Israeli soldiers.

Under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire day, Israel is planned to withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor area that separates northern Gaza from its south, allowing displaced Palestinian to return to their areas in northern Gaza.

The first six-week phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 47,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 111,400 since Oct. 7, 2023.

On the first day of the ceasefire, Israel released 90 Palestinian detainees in return for three Israeli captives set free by Hamas.

The three-phase ceasefire agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

News

Israeli Soldiers Admit to Killing Civilians

CrossFireArabia
December 21, 2024

Israeli soldiers revealed Friday that the army killed Palestinian civilians who entered previously targeted buildings in the Gaza Strip, according to a media report.

The Haaretz newspaper in Israel said the army “does not routinely update its list of targets in Gaza, nor does it indicate to forces on the ground which structures are no longer being used” by fighters.

“As a result, anyone – including noncombatants – who enters such a building risks being attacked,” it said.

The army claimed that its reported death toll of militants only includes individuals confirmed as such. However, “testimonies from soldiers who served in Gaza suggest a different reality.”

💢 Israeli soldiers admit killing civilians in targeted buildings in Gaza ⤵

Orders were given to target 'anyone who enters a building, regardless of who they are', soldiers say https://t.co/0SO5R67fgN pic.twitter.com/mA7DeP3S5S
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 21, 2024

A targeting officer from an Israeli combat brigade told Haaretz that, according to the guidelines, “an active building will always remain an active building, even if the ‘terrorist’ there was killed six months ago.”

A senior officer corroborated those claims, stating that “there were targets that suddenly came back to life,”

“So if someone decides to go into a building in search of a hiding place, the building will be struck,” said the officer.

In some areas, such as the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, instructions were reportedly given to target “anyone who entered a building regardless of who they are, even if they were just looking for shelter from the rain,” according to soldiers’ testimonies.

Another discharged officer from the 252nd Division said snipers were authorized to consider civilians entering specific areas as fighters. “We’re killing civilians there who are then counted as ‘terrorists,’” he said.

The army spokesperson’s “announcements about casualty numbers have turned this into a competition between units. If Division 99 killed 150 [people], the next unit aims for 200,” he added according to Anadolu.

The daily noted that “earlier this week, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry announced that the death toll in Gaza since the beginning of the war has exceeded 45,000 people.”

“Information published by the ministry has previously been verified by international organizations and governments and found to be credible,” it added.

The Haaretz report emphasized that “Israel disputes the figures. However, Israel is not itself counting or publishing the number of civilian Palestinian deaths in the current conflict, unlike in previous wars.”

According to the Israeli military, of those killed, the army “believes with a high degree of certainty” that 14,000 are fighters, and “a somewhat lesser degree of certainty” that 3,000 are fighters.

The Israeli military has not responded to the Haaretz report.

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 45,200 people, mostly women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, 2023.

On Nov. 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

News

Israel Devastates, Murders…

CrossFireArabia
November 15, 2024

Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal has made the following statement, Friday, about the devastating situation in Gaza and the north of the enclave that is being committed by the Israeli army. He said:

“Gaza has been enduring an ongoing war of extermination for over 400 days.

Signs of dehydration are now visible in children due to lack of proper nutrition and food.

Gaza City faces a policy of starvation, with the occupation blocking access to vegetables, fruits, and cooking gas.

The Israeli occupation continues to expand the Netzarim corridor, seizing more land from Gaza City.

The situation in Gaza is increasingly dire, with no home remaining livable.

Thousands of lives could have been saved if proper rescue and relief equipment had been available.”