War ending? Israel withdraws most troops from south at six-month mark of Gaza war

Israel said on Sunday — the six-month mark of the ruinous conflict in Gaza — that it was withdrawing all but one brigade from the south of the enclave, describing the move as an opportunity for troops to rest and retool for the next chapter of the war.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that its 98th commando division, which consists of special ground forces, had “concluded its mission” in the city of Khan Younis and left Gaza “to recuperate and prepare for future operations.” The Nahal brigade, made up of ground troops stationed along a corridor that divides northern and southern Gaza, would continue to operate, the army said.

The drawdown announcement Sunday seemed to mirror a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza City earlier this year, after the army said it had dismantled Hamas brigades in the north and was pivoting to more targeted operations.

On a tour of the IDF’s Southern Command with U.S. ambassador Jack Lew, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said soldiers would now be preparing for the “mission in the Rafah area” along the Egyptian border, home to some 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.

Israel has insisted it must invade Rafah to finish off Hamas’s remaining battalions; the Biden administration has said Israeli officials must first come up with a plan to evacuate civilians in the line of fire.

“The war in Gaza continues, and we are far from stopping,” Herzi Halevi, IDF chief of the general staff, said in a statement Sunday. “We will not…   leave any Hamas brigades active — in any part of the Gaza Strip. We have plans and will act when we decide.”

Israel’s punishing military campaign, launched after Hamas killed some 1,200 people and abducted 253 more in a surprise attack on Oct. 7, has yet to fully achieve its key objectives. Most of Hamas’s senior leaders are still at large, and more than 100 Israeli hostages are still held by the group.

More than 33,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the fighting, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. The damage caused by Israel’s air and ground campaign in northern Gaza is so extensive that, in satellite views, whole city blocks resemble wastelands of powdered brown and gray.

Humanitarian officials say Israeli restrictions on aid have created famine conditions in northern Gaza more swiftly than anywhere they have worked in decades. Israel denies limiting aid and has accused humanitarian groups of exaggerating the hunger crisis.