TEL AVIV :
THOUSANDS of Israeli soldiers
are being shifted out of the
Gaza Strip,themilitary saidon
Monday, in the first significant
drawdown of troops since the
warbeganas forces continued
to bear down on the main city
in the southern half of the
enclave.
The troop movement could
signal that fighting is being
scaled back in some areas of
Gaza,particularlyinthenorthern halfwhere themilitary has
saiditisclosetoassumingoperationalcontrol.Israelhasbeen
under pressure from its chief
ally, the United States, to begin
to switch to lower-intensity
fighting.
Word of the drawdown came
ahead of a visit by Secretary of
State Antony Blinken to the
region and after the Biden
administration bypassed
Congress for the second time
this month to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel.
But fierce fighting continued
in other areas of Gaza, especially the southern city Khan
Younis andcentral areas ofthe
territory.
Israel has pledged to
charge ahead until its war aims
have been achieved,including
dismantling Hamas,whichhas
ruled Gaza for 16 years.
The military said in a statement Monday that five
brigades, or several thousand
troops, were being taken out
of Gaza in the coming weeks
for training and rest.
In a briefing on Sunday that
first announced the troop with drawal without specifying how
many force swere leaving, Army
spokesman Rear Admiral
Daniel Hagari did not say
whether the decision meant
Israel was launching a new
phase of the war.
“The objectives of the war
require prolonged fighting,and
weare preparingaccordingly,”
he said.
Israel has vowed to crush
Hamas’ military and governing
capabilities in its war,whichwas
sparked by the militant group’s
October 7 attack on southern
Israel, which killed 1,200 people. Roughly 240 people were
taken hostage.
Israel responded with a blisteringair,ground and sea offensive that has killed more than
21,800 people in Gaza, two thirds of them women and children, according to the Health
Ministry in Gaza, which does
not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its
count.
Israel says more than 8,000
militants have been killed,
without providing evidence.
It
blames Hamas for the high
civilian death toll, saying the
militants embed within residential areas,includingschools
and hospitals.
Thewarhas displaced some
85 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, sending swells
of people seeking shelter in
Israeli-designated safe areas
that the military has nevertheless bombed.
Palestinians are left with a
sense that nowhere is safe in
the tiny enclave. In Khan
Younis,whereIsraelisbelieved
to have thousands of troops,
residents reported airstrikes
and shelling in the west and
center of the city. The military
andthemilitant groupIslamic
Jihad reported clashes in the
area.
ThePalestinianRedCrescent
said on X, that it transported
several dead and injured following a strike late Sunday in
Beach Street in Khan Younis. It
posted nighttime footage
showing medics carrying casualties to ambulances.
Combat was also reported
inurban refugee camps incentral Gaza,where Israel expanded its offensive last week.