Haaretz: The Israeli army approved plans for a rapid withdrawal from large areas in the Gaza Strip

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The Israeli army recently approved several plans for a rapid withdrawal of its forces from large parts of the Gaza Strip, in light of the progress in prisoner exchange negotiations.

According to Haaretz newspaper, Saturday, the Israeli army recently approved several plans for a rapid evacuation of large parts of the Gaza Strip, in light of progress in negotiations to release prisoners.

Haaretz pointed out that these plans will allow the army to implement any agreement approved by the political level, including an agreement that requires the immediate evacuation” of its forces from the sector.

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that a delegation of senior Israeli officials would travel to the Qatari capital, Doha, to participate in negotiations over a possible prisoner exchange deal.

According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, “the delegation includes Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, retired Major General Nitzan Alon (head of the IDF’s missing persons file), and (Netanyahu’s) political adviser Ophir Falk”.

This came after a visit by Steve Witkoff, the envoy of US President-elect Donald Trump, during which he met with Netanyahu and confirmed his optimism about the possibility of reaching a deal soon, as Witkoff pointed out that the main obstacle lies in Hamas’s doubts about US commitments, especially with the approach of the change of the US administration on January 20, when Trump takes office.

According to recent information, 90% of the potential prisoner exchange deal details have been agreed upon.

The sources indicated, “it’s expected that efforts will be intensified between all parties in the coming days with the aim of reaching an agreement before Trump takes office, especially in light of his repeated threats, which he reiterated by saying: “If the prisoners don’t return to their homes, the Middle East will witness unprecedented repercussions”.

On Friday, the Israeli Kan Channel quoted unnamed informed foreign sources as saying that Tel Aviv agreed to advance negotiations on the second phase of the prisoner swap deal in parallel with the implementation of the first phase, with the aim of ensuring the continuity of the process until all prisoners are released.

Although the details of the first and second phases of the potential deal are still unannounced.

The first phase includes the release of the elderly and the sick, while the second phase includes the release of soldiers.

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