Israel withdraws ground troops, leaving one brigade in south Gaza

Israel on Sunday pulled all its troops out of southern Gaza, including from the city of Khan Yunis, the military and Israeli media said, after months of fierce fighting with Hamas militants left the area devastated.

But the military, known as the IDF, said a “significant force” will continue to operate in the rest of the besieged Gaza Strip.

“The 98th commando division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis,” the army said in a statement to AFP. “The division left the Gaza Strip in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations.

“A significant force led by the 162nd division and the Nahal brigade continues to operate in the Gaza Strip and will preserve the IDF’s freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence-based operations,” the statement said.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said the withdrawal was tactical.

An army official told the left-leaning daily that “there’s no need for us to remain in the sector without an [operational] need”.

“The 98th division dismantled Hamas’s Khan Yunis brigades and killed thousands of its members. We did everything we could there.”

Displaced Palestinians from Khan Yunis may now be able to return to their homes after sheltering in the far southern city of Rafah, Haaretz reported the official as saying.