Israel Withdraws Thousands Of Тroops From Gaza

The Israeli army has confirmed that thousands of troops will be withdrawn from the Gaza Strip. In preparation for an anticipated lower-intensity phase of the war, which began on October 7 against the Islamist movement Hamas, however, the Israel Defense Forces said they expected the fighting to last at least six months or even all of 2024.

Strikes on southern Gaza intensified overnight with planes and tanks, but according to a United States official quoted by Reuters, at least in the north there were indications of a shift to lower-intensity operations.

This week, the 55th and 14th brigades, made up of reservists, return to their families. Another three brigades are going on scheduled training activities in the coming weeks. Many of the older reservists will be going home in these as well, however.

The decision was expected in the final weeks of the war, following a surprise attack by Hamas that left 1,200 dead. On the Palestinian side, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza, 22,000 people have been killed in the bombing and ground operation (Israel says thousands of them are fighters).

In that situation, pressure is growing from the international community for a new ceasefire, and the United States, Israel's leading backer, pushed last month for a more precise approach limiting civilian casualties.

However, the decision to withdraw was also related to the negative effects of the war on the economy. The country does not specify the number of its forces in Gaza at the moment, but announced that it will call up about 300,000 reservists - 10-15% of the workforce. Many of them are unable to work in their companies or are prevented from continuing their business or studies. Central Bank Governor Amir Yaron said Monday that the cost of the war amounted to at least 210 billion shekels.

Israel plans to hire tens of thousands of foreign construction workers from China, India and other countries, according to a conversation by Infrastructure Ministry Director General Yehuda Morgenstern with economic publication Calcalist.

Part of the motivation for the withdrawal is to free up more forces to respond to an escalation north along the border with Lebanon, where shelling intensified late last year. On Monday, five Israeli soldiers were wounded in attacks from Lebanon.

Yesterday, the Israeli army announced that airstrikes had been carried out on Hezbollah positions. According to a representative of the military, quoted by "Reuters", the situation on the border with Lebanon "cannot continue" and "the upcoming six-month period is a critical moment" (similar words were said a few days ago by the member of the military cabinet, otherwise a leading opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz).

Israel claims control of most of northern Gaza (which includes Gaza City). Attention shifted first to the central part of the strip, and then it is expected to intensify to the south, where the second largest city - Khan Yunis - is located.

With a population of 2.3 million people, most of whom have been displaced by the conflict and fled the north according to the UN, Gaza's civilians are mainly in and around Khan Younis and Rafah, near the border with Egypt. At a press conference on December 31, Netanyahu said he wanted full control of Gaza's border with Egypt so that the area would be "demilitarized" (effectively a reversal of the decision taken in 2005 to withdraw the Israeli army from Gaza).

Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners continued to stoke tensions. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded the restoration of Israeli settlements as part of efforts to "permanently control" Gaza and called on Palestinians to leave Gaza and make way for Israelis who would make "the desert bloom." Another cabinet member, Homeland Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said Palestinians should go to other countries and be encouraged to do so, and the war provided an "opportunity" to do so.

During his latest briefing, the army's chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the armed forces expected "prolonged fighting", that preparations were being made to fight the war throughout 2024, and that the withdrawal would give them new strength for more -further hostilities. An interlocutor of "Reuters" in the Israeli army at the same time admits that the operations in Gaza will take "at least another six months".

"The Israel Defense Forces must plan ahead with the understanding that there will be additional missions and fighting will continue for the rest of the year," said Daniel Hagari, chief spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces

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