Israel has begun withdrawing its troops from Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

On Sunday, January 19, Israel began withdrawing its troops from the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. The military is pulling back its military equipment.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Al Jazeera.

According to the publication, Israeli forces are retreating to the Philadelphi Corridor, which lies on the border between Gaza and Egypt.

What preceded this

It is worth noting that in Doha, negotiators signed a ceasefire agreement in Gaza between Israel and HAMAS on Thursday, January 16, along with a deal for the release of hostages. Just within the next two days, the agreement was approved by Israel's security cabinet, as well as by the government.

Since then, it has been reported that the agreement will take effect from today, January 19. However, it remains unclear whether the ceasefire will indeed occur today, as HAMAS has not provided the lists of hostages it plans to release in a timely manner.

It should be noted that yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his first public comments regarding the agreement with HAMAS. He referred to the initial phase of the document concerning the release of hostages as a "temporary ceasefire".

According to Netanyahu, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and the current president Joe Biden emphasized that Israel could resume military operations in Gaza if the subsequent phases of the agreement are not implemented. Furthermore, the United States will provide the country with the necessary weapons.