Israel has come under pressure from its main ally, the United States, to move toward a lower-intensity war.
The Israeli military announced it would withdraw thousands of its soldiers from the besieged Gaza Strip, marking the first significant troop withdrawal since the war began in October.
Israel is under increasing pressure from its main ally, the United States, to move toward a lower-intensity war that causes fewer civilian casualties.
But in the southern city of Khan Younis, fierce fighting continues as Israel reaffirms its commitment to continuing the war until its goals are achieved, including the destruction of the Palestinian group Hamas, which has killed around 1,140 people during attacks on southern Israel in October. 7, according to Israeli officials.
In a statement, the army said Monday that five brigades, or several thousand soldiers, were being withdrawn from the enclave for training and rest.
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari did not say whether the move meant the war was entering a new phase during a news briefing Sunday announcing the troop withdrawal for the first time.
“The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting and we prepare accordingly,” he said.
New step?
Shlomo Brom, a retired brigadier general formerly in charge of strategic planning in the Israeli army, said the troop changes could be due to American pressure and could signal a change in the way Israel fights the war.
“The war doesn’t stop,” Brom said. “It’s the beginning of a different way of operating.”
Israeli officials have said they will wage the war in three main stages. The first was an intense bombardment aimed at clearing access routes for ground forces and encouraging civilians to evacuate. The second was the invasion of the Gaza Strip which began on October 27.
With tanks and troops now overrunning much of the Gaza Strip, largely asserting control despite ambushes by Palestinian gunmen from hidden tunnels and bunkers, the army is moving into the third stage, a Israeli official, who could not be named given the sensitivity of the issue. question, told the Reuters news agency.
“It will take at least six months and involve intense clean-up missions against terrorists. No one is talking about peace doves flying from Shujayea,” the official reportedly said, referring to a battle-ravaged district of Gaza.
Separately, on Monday, the United States announced it would withdraw an aircraft carrier strike group from the Eastern Mediterranean and replace it with an amphibious assault ship accompanied by warships.
Palestinian health authorities say at least 21,978 people have been killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza since October 7.
The Israeli military said last week that at least 172 soldiers had been killed since the ground operation began in late October, including 18 by friendly fire and 11 by weapons or equipment malfunctions.
Cross-border fighting
Since the start of the war, the Israeli army has engaged in cross-border fighting with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
On Monday, Hezbollah said on Telegram that three of its fighters had been killed in southern Lebanon. Without giving details of how they were killed, the groups said they “were martyred on the road to (liberate) Jerusalem.”
The Israeli military said it struck a series of targets in Lebanon, including “military sites” where Hezbollah operated.
According to Hezbollah and security sources who spoke to the Reuters news agency, more than 100 Hezbollah fighters and nearly two dozen civilians, including children and the elderly, died.