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Israeli forces announced the end of the mission in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of ground units from the southern city of Khan Yunis.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that "the 98th Division has completed its mission in Khan Yunis.”
According to information from IDF commanders, This step is necessary to restore strength and prepare for further operations in Israel's war against Hamas.
Now only one Israeli Nahal brigade remains in the Gaza Strip. These militaries must preserve “the Israeli army's freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise, intelligence-based operations,” Deutsche Welle, CNN reported.
Is this a new intermediate step towards a possible operation in the city of Rafah, located on the border with Egypt, — Israel has not yet clarified.
IDF Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said at a press conference on Sunday that the military is “far from stopping” its operations in the Gaza Strip after the withdrawal of troops.
— We will not leave any active Hamas brigades in any part of the Gaza Strip. We have plans and we will act when we decide— he noted, adding that Israel's goals in Gaza had not been fully achieved, including the return of all hostages.
Expert position
Israeli security expert Omer Dostri said that the withdrawal of IDF troops is a purely tactical step and does not mean that the war is close to ending.
US Position
Speaker of the National Security Council at the US White House John Kirby said that the withdrawal of troops is most likely happening so that they can “rest and re-equip”, and not in order to move on to a new operation.
Prepared by Sergei Daga