The Israel Defense Forces completed a withdrawal to agreed-upon deployment lines in the Gaza Strip on Friday at noon, officially beginning a ceasefire and a 72-hour countdown during which Hamas is to release the 48 hostages it is holding under the first phase of the US-brokered deal. The withdrawal was conducted under the cover of artillery shelling and airstrikes in some areas, and an IDF reservist was killed by a Hamas sniper hours before the agreement went into place.
The completion of the withdrawal started a 72-hour countdown, during which Hamas is obligated to release all the living hostages and as many of the dead hostages that it can secure, according to the terms of the deal. That puts the deadline at noon on Monday. Hamas has said it will not be able to locate all the dead hostages in that time, and Israel is aware of this.
The IDF published footage of the pullback. US Envoy Steve Witkoff later said that the US military had confirmed that the IDF had completed its obligations.“CENTCOM has confirmed that the Israeli Defense Forces completed the first phase withdrawal to the yellow line at 12PM local time. The 72 hour period to release the hostages has begun,” Witkoff posted on X. (Read More)
