Israel withdraws most troops from Gaza
Egypt to host Hamas-Israel talks on cease-fire, release of hostages
The Israeli military said Sunday that it had withdrawn most ground troops from the Gaza Strip after completing a withering offensive in the southern city of Khan Younis, leaving just one brigade in the battered enclave six months after the war began.
The military has been reducing its numbers in Gaza since the beginning of the year under growing global pressure to ease the impact of the war on civilians. The drawdown also has provided relief for reservists, many of whom have been away from their homes and jobs since Israel’s offensive was launched within hours of the deadly Hamas-led assault Oct. 7 in Israel.
The remaining Nahal Brigade includes a few thousands soldiers tasked with preventing Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza and carrying out “precision” strikes across the territory, the military said. It was not clear what effect, if any, the withdrawal would have on the long-threatened incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said an assault on Rafah is needed to eliminate Hamas. President Joe Biden and most of the world has urged Israel to jettison the plan, saying it would threaten the lives of too many of the more than 1 million Palestinian civilians who have fled to Rafah from fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
Israel’s offensive, launched after the shock attack by Hamas, initially focused on northern Gaza, which has been left in ruins. In recent weeks the focus has been on southern Gaza with similar results.
The Israeli military published the names on Sunday of four soldiers killed Saturday in southern Gaza, bringing to 604 its losses in ground fighting there as the war against Hamas reached the half-year mark.
More than 250 hostages were seized and almost 1,200 people killed in the Oct. 7 massacre, Israel says. More than 33,100 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Israel is on alert for a possible retaliatory attack from Iran after the killing of Iranian generals April 1 in Damascus, Syria.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office, after holding an “operational situation assessment” with senior military officers, said Israel’s military “has completed preparations for responses in the event of any scenario” from Iran.
Meanwhile, Egypt said it was preparing to host a new round of talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire and hostage release deal. Israel and Hamas said their representatives would attend.
Netanyahu, at the start of his weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, said any deal must include the release of what Israel believes are 133 hostages still being held in Gaza, and he said Hamas’ “extreme demands” were the obstacle.
Israel is under increased pressure from the United States, where Biden has demanded that it improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza and work toward a cease-fire. The president said U.S. support could depend on it.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, former House speaker and a key Biden ally, signed a letter Friday from dozens of congressional Democrats to the president and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging them to rescind a recent arms transfer to Israel and withhold any future transfers if Israel “fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers.”
The letter also called on the Biden administration to conduct its own inquiry into the Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers for celebrity chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen.