Israeli forces have withdrawn from a key Gaza corridor, part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas that is moving ahead but faces a major test over whether the two sides can negotiate its planned extension.
Israel had previously agreed as part of the deal to remove its forces from the Netzarim Corridor, a six-kilometre-long strip of land that separates northern Gaza from the south.
Last month, Israeli forces began allowing Palestinians to cross Netzarim to head to their homes in the war-battered north, sending hundreds of thousands of people streaming across Gaza on foot and by car.
The complete withdrawal of forces from the area, however, will fulfil another commitment to the deal, which has seen a pause in fighting in the 15-month-long war.
On Sunday, more cars and carts heaped with belongings, including water tanks and suitcases, were seen heading north through a road that crosses Netzarim.
Under the deal, Israel is supposed to allow the vehicles to cross through uninspected, and there did not appear to be troops in the vicinity of the road.
The 42-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is just past its halfway point, and the two sides are now due to negotiate an extension.
The agreement is fragile, however, and the extension isn't guaranteed. There appears to have been little progress so far towards a second stage of the deal.
Israel has said it won't agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas's military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas, meanwhile, says it won't hand over the last of the hostages it took during the October 7, 2023 terror attacks until Israel removes all troops from the territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a delegation to Qatar — a key mediator in talks between the sides — but the delegation consists of low-level officials.
Mr Netanyahu is also expected to convene a meeting of key cabinet ministers this week to discuss a second phase of the deal, but it is not clear when the meeting will take place.
The situation on the ground in Gaza is not guaranteed to remain stable throughout the first stage of the ceasefire either.
Medics operating in the Hamas-controlled enclave said four Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were killed by Israeli gunfire in two separate incidents on Sunday near Khan Younis and in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said soldiers had fired warning shots at "several suspects" and that "several hits were identified", when asked about the Gaza City incident where medics said three Palestinians had been killed and five wounded.
The military was not aware of the incident where the woman was allegedly killed.
During the first stage of the ceasefire, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting, freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and a flood of humanitarian aid to war-battered Gaza.
A second stage of the ceasefire would involve all remaining hostages being released in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a "sustainable calm".
Pregnant Palestinian killed in West Bank, health ministry says
Also on Sunday, two women, including a pregnant 23-year-old Palestinian woman, were killed by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Sundos Jamal Mohammed Shalabi, who was eight months pregnant, was struck by Israeli gunfire at the Nur Shams refugee camp, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the foetus also did not survive and that Ma Shalabi's husband was critically injured.
The Israeli military said the incident was being probed by its military police criminal investigation unit.
In a separate statement, the Palestinian health ministry said a 21-year-old Palestinian woman had been killed by the Israeli forces.
The Israeli military said its forces were scanning a house for a militant and that they called on inhabitants to exit the building.
The woman did not come out and was fatally wounded when they used force to breach the door, the military said.
The Palestinian state news agency cited eyewitnesses as saying Ms Shalabi and her husband were shot by Israeli forces as they were trying to leave their home.
The Israeli military had previously said it was expanding a counter-terrorism operation in the north of the West Bank to Nur Shams, a refugee camp close to the Palestinian town Tulkarm.
Israel's military, police and intelligence services started the counter-terrorism operation in Jenin on January 21, with officials describing it as a "large-scale and significant military operation".
The operation later expanded to also include Tulkarm, Al Faraa and Tamun, with the military saying it was targeting militants.
Israel, which views the West Bank as part of a multi-front war against Iranian-backed groups established around its borders, launched the operation after reaching a ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza.
Thousands of Palestinians have since fled their West Bank homes in the wake of the military campaign and the widespread destruction.
Famine averted as aid surges, UN says
Famine had been mostly averted in Gaza, with a surge of aid entering the territory during the fragile ceasefire, the UN humanitarian chief said, but he warned the threat could return quickly if the truce collapsed.
"The threat of famine, I think, is largely averted," Tom Fletcher said in Cairo on Sunday.
"Those starvation levels are down from where they were before the ceasefire."
The UN humanitarian office has said more than 12,600 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on January 19.
ABC/wires
