7/31/2025–|Last update: 13:33 (Mecca time)
The Israeli Army Radio said today, Thursday, that the army decided to withdraw the 98th Division from the Gaza Strip, in conjunction with the end of the military “Gideon” operation that it started last May, during which dozens of deaths were incurred by officers and soldiers.
The radio added that this division ended its combat duties in the northern Gaza Strip and began preparing to withdraw.
She added that the army reduced the number of its forces during the past days after the withdrawal of the Parachute, Commando and armored brigade.
The Israeli army radio said that 4 military teams are still stationed in the Strip, noting that only two teams are carrying out combat duties in the northern Gaza Strip and in the city of Khan Yunis (south), while the other two teams play a defensive role.
She explained that the Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir decided to reduce the number of reserve forces on all fronts by 30%.
It quoted sources that the Israeli army forces in Gaza are stationed in areas that have taken control of them and are awaiting political level decisions.
The talk comes about the end of the Gideon vehicle operation after it failed to achieve a shift in the confrontation with the Palestinian resistance, which responded with the “Dawood Stones” operation.
During June and July, the Israeli army incurred at least 40 people, and this period witnessed qualitative resistance operations in Khan Yunis and Beit Hanoun, the eastern areas of Gaza City, including Al -Shuja’ia neighborhood.
Meanwhile, Channel 12 quoted the commander of the southern leadership of the Israeli army as saying that the war that Israel is waging in Gaza is long, difficult and exhausting, but it is necessary, adding that the army will not stop until it achieves the goals of returning the detainees and defeating Hamas.
Change the strategy
Commenting on the reports of the Israeli army withdrawing forces from Gaza, the Lebanese military expert, retired Brigadier General Elias Hanna, said that Israel changes its strategies and changed the forces inside the Strip, “but the return in the end is the same,” as he put it.
Hanna explained, in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, that Israel moved from a previous strategy to what was called Gideon’s vehicles, an operation that the Israeli chief of staff said came to achieve certain goals, most notably the killing of a large number of leaders in Gaza.
The military expert pointed out that the 98th Division was drained significantly, and this may have several reasons, the first of which is its rest in preparation for returning it to a new process that may aim to surround Gaza City, isolate the center of the Strip, and then start a long depletion process, according to what the Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir stated.
Hanna said, “The private units usually work only within the framework of special operations, but now they are fighting as if they were ordinary infantry forces, and this is a reason for a great dissolution within these units, because preparing them, training them and their tasks is completely different.”
He pointed out that there are 5 Israeli military teams linked to operations in the Gaza Strip, “but not all of them work inside the Strip, because the area is very small,” explaining that the operations are usually carried out within what is known as “Task Force”, that is, joint tasks forces that include tanks, pedestrians, special units, engineering, and others.
The retired Brigadier General Elias Hanna concluded by noting that this shift may also be linked to a political solution to be prepared for him after the visit of the American envoy Steve Witkev (who arrived today to Israel), noting the possibility of entering into a new stage of operations or negotiations.
