Israel will begin pulling thousands of soldiers out of Gaza this week in preparation for a new phase of the conflict, the military announced Monday, though a top official warned that he expected the fighting to continue throughout the year. <\/p>\n
The announcement from the Israel Defense Forces marked the biggest known withdrawal of troops from the territory since the war against Hamas began and comes after the military said it was expanding operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip. <\/p>\n
A senior US official said Monday that the move shows signs\u00a0of\u00a0the country\u2019s gradual shift\u00a0to\u00a0a\u00a0lower-intensity\u00a0phase\u00a0of\u00a0its\u00a0war. <\/p>\n
The 551st\u00a0and 14th\u00a0brigades \u2013 comprised of reservists \u2013 will return to their families and civilian lives this week, the IDF said in a statement. <\/p>\n
The 828th\u00a0brigade, which trains squad commanders; the 261st brigade, which trains army officers; and the 460th\u00a0brigade, which trains the armored corps, will return to their scheduled training, the IDF said. <\/p>\n
The statement said the move is expected to \u201csignificantly alleviate economic burdens\u201d and the troops \u201cto gather strength for upcoming activities in the next year, as the fighting will persist, and their services will still be needed.\u201d <\/p>\n
In a briefing on Sunday, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the return of the reservists was aimed at ensuring \u201cplanning and preparation for the continuation of 2024\u2026 understanding that we will be required for additional tasks and warfare throughout this year.\u201d The objectives of the war \u201crequire prolonged fighting,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
The focus of Israel\u2019s ground operation has moved to the center and south of the Strip, but fighting in the north continues, where an estimated 52% to 65% of structures have been damaged and 46,000 housing units completely\u00a0destroyed, according to the UN. <\/p>\n
The IDF extended operations further into Khan Younis in southern Gaza last week. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warned on Thursday that over 150,000 people \u201chave nowhere to go\u201d after the IDF warned residents in many parts of central Gaza that they must urgently leave. <\/p>\n
Israel aims to destroy Hamas after the Palestinian militant group\u2019s surprise attacks on October 7 left 1,200 people in Israel dead, according to Israeli authorities, as well as bring back the hostages Hamas captured. <\/p>\n
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel\u2019s war in Gaza is at its \u201chighest level and will continue for months,\u201d according to Israel\u2019s Army Radio. <\/p>\n
The\u00a0US\u00a0has\u00a0been pressing\u00a0Israeli\u00a0officials\u00a0to\u00a0begin the more surgical\u00a0phase\u00a0of\u00a0fighting.\u00a0The Biden administration has warned Israel that it cannot replicate the kind of devastating tactics it used in the north and must do more to limit civilian casualties. <\/p>\n
More than 21,000 people have been killed in the enclave during Israel\u2019s offensive, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. <\/p>\n
A US official\u00a0said Monday\u2019s\u00a0announcement\u00a0appeared\u00a0to\u00a0reflect the\u00a0start\u00a0of\u00a0a gradual shift\u00a0to\u00a0lower intensity\u00a0operations in the north\u00a0of\u00a0Gaza\u00a0that American\u00a0officials had\u00a0been encouraging. <\/p>\n
The\u00a0official\u00a0said the move reflected the success IDF forces have had in Northern\u00a0Gaza\u00a0in dismantling Hamas military capabilities. Still, the\u00a0official\u00a0cautioned there was still fighting\u00a0ongoing in the north and that it did not appear\u00a0to reflect any changes in the south\u00a0of\u00a0Gaza. <\/p>\n
US\u00a0officials are viewing the next few weeks as a critical period that will demonstrate Prime Minister\u00a0Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s willingness\u00a0to\u00a0move\u00a0to\u00a0a\u00a0lower\u00a0intensity\u00a0phase\u00a0of\u00a0going after Hamas in\u00a0Gaza. <\/p>\n
Later this week,\u00a0US\u00a0Secretary\u00a0of\u00a0State Antony Blinken is expected to travel\u00a0to\u00a0the Middle East\u00a0to\u00a0continue discussions with\u00a0Israeli\u00a0officials about the next\u00a0phase\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0war\u00a0in\u00a0Gaza, which American\u00a0officials have made clear they expect\u00a0to\u00a0begin soon. <\/p>\n\n
Israel will begin pulling thousands of soldiers out of Gaza this week in preparation for a new phase of the conflict, the military announced Monday, though a top official warned that he expected the fighting to continue throughout the year. The announcement from the Israel Defense Forces marked the biggest known withdrawal of troops from <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}