Israeli soldiers shed tears after leaving Netzarim Corridor in Gaza 

Israeli soldiers who participated in the military offensive in the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip over the past year have left the area in tears, claiming that their “efforts were in vain”, Israel’s Channel 14 has reported.

The soldiers told the channel that they felt “extremely disappointed after living for long months in difficult conditions, during which they carried out offensive and defensive operations” against Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza. “Yet, as they left the area, they felt that the goals set by the army were not achieved as expected.”

The debate is growing within Israel about the war’s outcomes and results on the ground.

On Monday, thousands of displaced Palestinians began to return to the northern Gaza Strip after being forced out of their homes by Israel’s genocidal war. Tens of thousands moved on foot along the coastal Al-Rashid Street under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Thousands of Palestinians began returning to the northern Gaza Strip as part of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that came into effect on 19 January 2025 [Aya Higuchi/Anadolu Agency]

The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement took effect on 19 January, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and wounded more than 111,000 since 7 October, 2023.

Seven Israeli captives, including four soldiers, have so far been released in return for 290 Palestinian prisoners since the deal came into force.

An estimated 11,000 Palestinians remain missing under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israel. With widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children, the situation is one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

OPINION: The people of Gaza deserve justice, not ethnic cleansing