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The Israeli occupation army announced the withdrawal of a new brigade from the northern Gaza Strip, as part of reducing the number of its forces there, and as a translation of its transition to the third phase of the war, which is approaching its 120th day.
According to an interactive map broadcast by Al Jazeera, the total number of combat brigades withdrawn from the Gaza Strip reached 11, compared to 10 brigades still fighting, half of which are in the city of Khan Yunis in the south, according to the Institute for War Studies.
In this context, the military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that the occupation announced 3 weeks ago that its war had entered the third phase in the northern Gaza Strip, where vehicles were withdrawn over a period of days, while aerial bombardment operations continued.
He explained during his analysis for Al Jazeera that the entry of the occupation forces into the north is limited to the appearance of Palestinian resistance fighters, or obtaining information about detained prisoners, etc.
He pointed out that the third stage means selective surgical operations to achieve limited goals, indicating that the withdrawal of the brigades came after they were exhausted and inflicted great losses on them, at a time when there is conflicting information about where they will go, either in the Gaza envelope or the northern front with Lebanon.
However, the strategic expert confirms that the third phase has not been entered from Wadi Gaza until Rafah in the south, stressing that the main battle is taking place in the city of Khan Yunis with the presence of 4 Israeli brigades, in addition to a fifth brigade in its eastern region.
He pointed out that Khan Yunis camp is small in area, and the maximum entry into it reached 200 meters after 10 days of fighting, stressing that this gives an idea of the nature of the battle in the south, describing the battle as an open war.
He stressed that the biggest challenge for the occupation is the human losses and the cost of reaching the precious catch, “if he can reach it,” according to Al-Duwairi.
Source: Al Jazeera