Hamas says Israeli military withdraws from Gaza's Netzarim Corridor

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli military has withdrawn from an area of Gaza known as the Netzarim corridor that bisects the enclave, Hamas said on Sunday, a move that was expected under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.

An Israeli security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed the Israeli military was withdrawing from its positions in central Gaza.

Israeli forces had already reduced their presence there.

Hamas celebrated the withdrawal as a victory and the Hamas-run police force deployed to the area to manage the flow Palestinians crossing through. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Reuters footage showed what appeared to be Israeli military vehicles moving away from the coast and towards the Israeli border.

Since the early months of the war Israeli forces had occupied the roughly 4 mile-long corridor south of Gaza City that stretches from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.

The corridor cut off Gaza's northern communities, including its largest metropolitan area, from the south.

Thousands of Palestinians have streamed through the corridor in recent weeks, returning to their homes in the north from southern Gaza where they had sought shelter from the war.

Some who crossed over have described their shock after seeing the destruction of communities and discovering what they said were human remains in areas where Israeli forces had withdrawn.

Much of northern Gaza has become a wasteland following Israel's devastating campaign. After finding their homes destroyed, some Gazans have gone back to the south, while others have set up tents where their homes once stood.

Former American soldiers employed as private contractors have been deployed to inspect vehicles passing through the corridor in recent weeks following the ceasefire agreement that was implemented on January 19 after more than 15 months of war.

Crowds of people were seen traversing the corridor on Sunday as Hamas announced the Israeli military had withdrawn, while a long line of cars gathered, waiting to pass through.

Hamas military and police forces have increased their public presence since January's ceasefire, in what analysts say is an intentional message that the group has not been defeated.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas for its October 2023 attack in which 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and over 250 taken hostage.

More than 46,000 people have been killed by Israel's retaliatory assault, according to Palestinian health authorities, who say most of the dead are women and children.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem; Editing by Christina Fincher)