April
7, 2024
Israel
has withdrawn most of its army from Gaza, marking an official end to the
Israeli ground operation in the strip until further notice.
“The
army withdrew (between Saturday and Sunday) most of the already few forces
remaining in the Gaza Strip. The withdrawal includes all the forces of the 98th
Division, which operated in the last months in the Khan Yunis area,” Hebrew
news site Ynet reported.
“The
IDF is waiting for the decision of the political echelon on possible action in
Rafah,” it added.
According
to Ynet and several other Israeli outlets, the Nahal Brigade is the only
Israeli brigade left in Gaza – and is there to maintain control over the
Netzarim corridor – which cuts the strip in half and is used by Israeli forces
to prevent the return of the displaced to north Gaza.
Ynet
reports that only a few hundred Israeli soldiers remain in the Gaza Strip.
Among
those who withdrew was the army’s 98th Division, which was operating in Khan
Yunis, where Hamas’ Qassam Brigades and other resistance groups maintain a
prominent presence. Military correspondent Doron Kodosh said the army could
reoperate in Khan Yunis if there was an “operational” need.
Hebrew
media maintains that these withdrawals mark the third phase of the war, which
will focus on raids and limited operations.
This
is a “prelude” to operations in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, which Israel
claims is Hamas’ final stronghold and its key to victory in the ongoing war,
according to journalist Sherit Avitan Cohen. However, he adds that operations
in Rafah have been postponed several times, and nobody knows why.
Washington
has been calling for limited “counterterrorism” operations in Rafah, as opposed
to initial Israeli plans for a full invasion. The US has also been pushing for
an adequate plan to evacuate civilians in Rafah, who are besieged in the
desperately overcrowded city.
Yedioth
Ahronoth writes that the withdrawals will allow the army to establish shelters
for the displaced once it moves into Rafah.
It
is expected that warplanes will continue bombardment across the strip.
“Regardless
of what happens later in the war, the continuous reduction in the size of the
forces and the intensity of military pressure in recent months has taken us far
away from achieving the goals of the war. This also has a direct relationship
to avoiding coming up with a new plan for the hostages,” said Israeli MK Gideon
Saar, as reported by Israel Hayom correspondent Ariel Kahana.
The
withdrawals come as Israeli forces have continued to suffer heavy losses in
Gaza.
The
Israeli army admitted on 7 April to the killing of four of its soldiers in
southern Gaza the day before.
"According
to preliminary findings from a military investigation, the four were fatally
shot by terrorists who emerged from a tunnel within a ruined structure and
targeted soldiers conducting a patrol along the IDF's supply path in Khan
Younis. It seems the terrorists were able to escape by retreating into the
tunnel," Israel Hayom reported.
However,
according to field reports from Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, the group’s Khan Yunis
battalion killed over 14 Israeli soldiers on 6 April in several elaborate
operations and ambushes that took place in the Al-Amal neighborhood and the
Al-Zana area.
33,175 | 75,886 | 7,000 |
Killed | Wounded | Missing |
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