Israel withdraws troops from Southern Gaza as war hits 6-month mark

The Israeli military said Sunday that it had withdrawn a division of ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, as international mediators gathered with hopes of brokering a temporary cease-fire six months into a war that has now become the longest involving Israel since the 1980s.

Israel has significantly reduced the number of troops it has on the ground in Gaza over the past several months. Only a fraction of the soldiers that it deployed in the territory earlier in the war against Hamas remain.

Now, the last group of Israeli soldiers in the southern city of Khan Younis has left Gaza “to recuperate and prepare for future operations,” the army said. The withdrawal of the soldiers, members of the 98th Division, means that no Israeli troops are actively maneuvering in southern Gaza, the Israeli news media reported.

But Israeli officials made clear that the army would stay in other parts of Gaza to preserve its “freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence-based operations.”

The drawdown from Khan Younis, about four months after Israeli forces invaded southern Gaza, raised questions about Israel’s plans in the face of widespread calls for it to deescalate the conflict. It was also unclear what it might signal about Israel’s oft-stated plan to invade the southernmost city of Rafah, where more than 1 million people have fled to escape the fighting.

People gather at a rally marking the beginning of the seventh month of the Israel-Hamas war, in Jerusalem on Sunday. (Photo: The New York Times)

As the army exited Khan Younis, Israel and its military remained on high alert Sunday as it anticipated retribution from Iran for a recent strike in Syria that killed seven senior Iranian military officers. Iran’s leaders have pledged to avenge the killings.

On Sunday, the Israeli government, which has not publicly taken responsibility for the strike, said it was ready to respond if Iran retaliated. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said groups backed by Iran had been behind “many attacks” on Israel over the past six months.

“Israel is prepared — defensively and offensively — for any attempt to attack us, from anywhere,” he said before a government meeting, according to remarks released by his office.

Meanwhile, officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar began meeting in Cairo on Sunday, along with delegations from Israel and from Hamas. Their aim was to hammer out an agreement on a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages Hamas took when it led an attack on Israel on October 7.

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