Israel withdraws some troops from Gaza to ‘revitalise economy’ amid labour shortages
ISRAEL has said that it will withdraw some of its forces from Gaza as it focuses on targeted operations, amid warnings from officials of a prolonged war.
“The Israel Defense Forces [IDF] is currently adjusting deployment plans for forces in Gaza and the reserve system,” the IDF said. “Some reservists, including the 551st and 14th brigades, will return to their families and employment this week.”
The move is expected “to significantly alleviate economic burdens and enable them [personnel] to gather strength for upcoming activities in the next year, as the fighting will persist and their services will still be needed”, the spokesman said. Three brigades will also return to scheduled training.
An Israeli official said that the withdrawal was focused on reservists and was designed to “re-energise the Israeli economy”. Israel drafted 300,000 reservists for the war – an estimated 10 to 15 per cent of its workforce. Some were soon discharged but government sources have said between 200,000 and 250,000 were still serving and absent from their jobs or universities.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a note that the call-up of reservists to service was among the main reasons behind “severe” labour shortages within the Israeli economy.
It said economic growth would slow in 2024 as a result of the war.
Some of the troops pulled out of Gaza in the south would be prepared for rotation to the northern border with Lebanon, the official said. In recent days there has been an increase in cross-border fire between the IDF and Iran- backed Lebanese Hezbollah militants, who have fired rockets and sent drones into Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.
Some of the Israeli communities north of the Gaza Strip that were evacuated in the wake of the Oct 7 attack will be able to go back in the near future, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, said yesterday.
He added that some of the evacuated communities in areas within a range of four to seven kilometres north of the enclave would be able to return home soon, according to published remarks from a briefing.
Commenting on Israel’s decision to withdraw some troops from Gaza, a US official told Reuters: “This appears to be the start of the gradual shift to lower intensity operations in the north that we have been encouraging, which reflects the success the IDF has had in dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities there. I’d caution, though, there is still fighting in the north and this does not reflect any changes in the south.”