Israel withdraws its settlements and forces from the Gaza Strip — Key Events — Levant

What happened

Israel evacuates all its settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank, and withdraws its forces from inside Gaza by 12 September 2005, while keeping control of Gaza's airspace, territorial waters and most of its crossings. The Agreement on Movement and Access of 15 November 2005 reopens Rafah under an EU border-assistance mission.

Disengagement removed the Israeli ground presence without settling Gaza's status: whether Israel's continued control of borders, sea and air amounts to occupation is disputed, and the ICJ's 2024 opinion addressed it. The EU mission created in 2005 is the one redeployed to Rafah in February 2026.

Confidence: High

When15 Aug – 12 Sep 2005 (AMA 15 Nov 2005)

KindTerritorial change · Political

ArenaGaza

Confidence: High Sources: Established historical record · European Union institutional texts and Council conclusions Methodology Corrections

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Israel

Where this fits

This is one entry in the Levant timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.