Enlarge image
Israeli soldiers in Khan Yunis
Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/dpa
The Israeli army said it withdrew its troops from the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday. "The 98th Commando Detachment has ended its deployment in Khan Yunis," the army said in a statement. She left the Gaza Strip "to recover and prepare for further operations."
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted a military representative as saying that the withdrawal was carried out because there was currently no operational need in the region. The withdrawal has nothing to do with pressure from the USA. And further: »The 98th Commando Detachment disbanded the Hamas brigades in Khan Yunis and killed thousands of its members. We did everything we could there.” But the second mission, “to bring back the hostages,” “did not succeed.”
The withdrawal from Khan Yunis should enable the displaced Palestinians to return to their homes after seeking protection in Rafah, reports Haaretz, citing the military representative. However, he made it clear that the army “will continue to operate there depending on operational requirements.”
In the near future, the army plans to station three divisions on the border with the Gaza Strip, from which the armed forces can enter the Gaza Strip if necessary.
However, troops still remain in the Gaza Strip. This is reported by the news agencies Reuters and dpa as well as the “Times of Israel”. According to the newspaper, the Nahal Brigade is still in the Gaza Strip.
The dpa reports, citing the Israeli military, that the remaining troops are intended to "preserve the Israeli army's freedom of action and ensure its ability to carry out precise operations on the basis of intelligence information."
It was initially unclear whether the withdrawal from Khan Yunis marked an important turning point in the war or a new interim stage on the way to a possible deployment in the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.
The army announced on Saturday that the body of a hostage had been recovered in Khan Yunis. The city is considered an important base of the terrorist organization Hamas.
svs/dpa