Israel to pull thousands of troops from Gaza: What does it mean?
Reuters reported. This is likely to be a temporary move but the “most significant" one as this is the first pullback of troops announced since the beginning of the war in October 2023. The military said in a statement on Monday that five brigades, or several thousand troops, were being taken out of Gaza in the coming weeks for training and rest.
The Israel military has also decided to partially return reservists to civilian life to help the economy as the war looks set to last well into the new year. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari was quoted by the New York Times as saying that the move to demobilise some soldiers does not indicate any compromise on Israel’s intention to continue fighting. He, however, indicated that some will be called back to service in the coming year.
"Some of the 300,000 army reservists would get a break from the war, in order to prepare for the 'prolonged fighting' ahead," Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari was quoted by AFP as saying. The troop movement could signal that fighting is being scaled back in some areas of Gaza, particularly in the northern half where the military has said it is close to assuming operational control, the Associated Press reported. However, Israel warned the Gaza war will continue throughout 2024 as unrelenting strikes killed dozens in the Palestinian territory and Hamas fired a rocket barrage at the stroke of midnight.
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