Israel pulls ground troops from southern Gaza as fresh round of ceasefire talks starts in Egypt

Israel has pulled all of its ground troops out of southern Gaza for "tactical reasons", the country's army has said, raising questions about the future direction of the war as Hamas and Israeli delegations travel to Egypt for a new round of ceasefire talks.

- Bethan McKernan

Two brigades will stay in the northern half of the Gaza Strip and the new corridor that now bifurcates the Palestinian territory at Wadi Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said yesterday, in order to "preserve the IDF's freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence-based operations".

It is believed the drawdown is primarily to relieve reservists after nearly four months of intense fighting in the now-decimated southern city of Khan Younis, rather than any significant shift in strategy.

An army official who spoke to the Haaretz newspaper said: "There's no need for us to remain in Khan Younis. The 98th Division dismantled Hamas's Khan Younis brigades and killed thousands of its members." Displaced Palestinians may now be able to return there, they said.

Military analysts said yesterday that an Israeli ground offensive on Gaza's southernmost town of Rafah, where about 1.5 million people are sheltering, is not off the table.

The timing of the announcement coincided with the beginning of a new round of mediated talks in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, aimed at securing a second truce and hostage release deal, and was considered as a potentially positive sign that the negotiations may finally bear fruit.