Israel pulling out some troops as Gaza war enters next phase

Move aimed at shifting to more targeted ops and re-energising Israeli economy: Official

Israeli tanks pulled out of some Gaza City districts on Jan 1 while remaining in others, residents said. The move came ahead of a planned troop reduction in the war.

However, fighting raged elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave along with intense bombardment.

The Israeli move to withdraw some forces from Gaza is aimed at shifting to more targeted operations against Hamas, an Israeli official said. The country is partially returning reservists to civilian life to help the economy as the war looks set to last well into 2024, the official added.

The war will continue in the Palestinian enclave until the armed group is toppled, the official said, adding that some of the five brigades withdrawn will prepare for a possible flare-up of a second front against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Gaza offensive was launched after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct 7. Since then, Israeli officials have said they planned to wage it in three main stages.

The first was intense shelling to clear access routes for ground forces and encourage civilians to evacuate. The second was the invasion that began on Oct 27.

With tanks and troops having now overrun much of the Gaza Strip, largely asserting control despite Palestinian gunmen continuing their ambushes from hidden tunnels and bunkers, the military is moving to the third stage of the war, said the official, who could not be identified by name given the sensitivity of the issue.

“This will take six months at least, and involve intense mopping-up missions against the terrorists. No one is talking about doves of peace being flown from Shajaia,” the official told Reuters, referring to a Gaza district ravaged by fighting.