The Israeli military has confirmed that it will withdraw thousands of its soldiers from the war-torn Gaza Strip.
In a statement on Monday, the military said that five brigades, or several thousand troops, were being taken out of the enclave for training and rest.
The pull out of troops has been linked to the pressure the Israeli military has received from US with the call to “move to a more low-intensity war that has fewer civilian casualties”.
Aljazeera reports that the Israeli Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari did not say whether the decision meant the war was entering into a new phase during a briefing on Sunday that first announced the troop withdrawal.
“The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting, and we are preparing accordingly,” he said
Hagari had said he expected “warfare throughout this year,” indicated that some troops would be called back to service in 2024 as Israel maintain it stand to annihilate the Hamas.
According to local health authorities, more than 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war in October through Israeli bombing.
With three months into the war, the Israeli military cited a growing toll on the Israeli economy, a fallout of the wartime mobilization.
This move is expected to significantly alleviate economic burdens and enable them to gather strength for upcoming activities in the next year,” the military said