DThe Israeli military announced on Monday the withdrawal of thousands of soldiers from the Gaza Strip. The armed forces said the five brigades would be given the opportunity to recover and train in the coming weeks. It is the first significant troop withdrawal since the start of the Gaza war, which was triggered by a terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7th.
In a briefing on Sunday that announced the troop withdrawal without giving details, military spokesman Daniel Hagari did not say whether the decision meant Israel was entering a new phase of the war. “The objectives of the war require a prolonged fight and we are preparing accordingly,” he said. But the troop movements could indicate that fighting is decreasing in some areas of the Gaza Strip, particularly in the northern half, where the military says it is close to taking operational control. Israel has been urged by its main ally, the United States, to reduce the intensity of attacks.
Retired Brigadier General Shlomo Brom, who was formerly in charge of strategic planning in the Israeli military, said the troop changes could be due to U.S. pressure. This indicates a change in the way Israel is waging war in some areas. “The war is not over,” said Brom. “It’s the beginning of a different way of operating.”
Heavy fighting continued in other areas of the Gaza Strip, particularly in the southern and central coastal town of Khan Yunis. In Khan Yunis, residents reported airstrikes and shelling in the west and center of the city. The military and the militant group Islamic Jihad reported clashes in the area. The Palestinian Red Crescent said on X, formerly Twitter, that it had transported several dead and injured people after an attack in Khan Yunis on Sunday evening. He released footage showing paramedics carrying the injured into ambulances.
All developments in the live ticker:
12:17 p.m. – Large demonstration in Istanbul
Thousands of people demonstrated in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul. Participants waved Turkish and Palestinian flags and walked across Istanbul’s central Galata Bridge on Monday, pictures showed. Some wore green Hamas headbands. According to the state news agency Anadolu, several politicians from the Islamic conservative ruling party AKP also took part in the protest. President’s son Bilal Erdogan accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza during a speech.
12:10 p.m. – Hamas commander killed
The Israeli army says it has killed a commander of the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip who is said to have been a key player in the terrorist attack on Israel’s border towns on October 7th. The commander of the Hamas unit “Nuchba” (English: Elite) in Deir al-Balah in the central section of the coastal strip was killed in an air strike, the Israeli military said. There was initially no reaction from Hamas.
The army statement said the commander “commanded Hamas terrorists who carried out the brutal attack on Kibbutz Kissufim” on October 7. He also led the attackers to other border towns such as Beeri and Nirim. Even after the massacre on October 7th, he was involved in fighting against Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
10:48 a.m. – The current situation in Gaza:
Source: OpenStreetMap; Infographic WORLD
10:13 a.m. – 29 Israeli soldiers killed by accident or friendly fire
One in six of the Israeli soldiers killed since the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip began was accidentally killed by their own comrades or in an accident. The Israeli army confirmed corresponding media reports. This affects a total of 29 soldiers. 18 of them died as a result of friendly fire from their own troops. Two others were killed by an accidentally discharged shot and nine others by accidents involving ammunition.
2:40 a.m. – Hamas fires rockets into southern Israel
At the turn of the year, the radical Islamic Hamas from the Gaza Strip fired rockets into southern Israel and the city of Tel Aviv. The attacks began on Sunday at exactly midnight (local time, 10 p.m. CET), as journalists from the AFP news agency reported. The Israeli military confirmed the shelling, but initially did not provide any information on casualties or damage. According to AFP journalists, the missiles were intercepted by the anti-aircraft system in Tel Aviv. Many of the people who had gathered on the streets for New Year’s Eve celebrations tried to get to safety. The military correspondent for The Times of Israel newspaper shared videos of the rockets on
Hamas’s military wing, the Essedin al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the two attacks in a video on social media. The Palestinian organization said it used M90 rockets in “response to the massacres of civilians committed by Israel.” Hamas had decided to “start the year 2024 with a hail of rockets on Israel,” it said.
02:31 a.m. – Israel expects long war and sends reservists home
“The objectives of the war require a longer fight, and we are preparing accordingly,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said. “We adapt our style of warfare and the forces required for each area in the Gaza Strip to best fulfill the mission, as each area has different characteristics and different operational needs.”
Some of the reservists will “return to their families and their jobs” this week, Hagari continued. This will ease pressure on Israel’s economy and allow reserve soldiers to “gather strength for the activities ahead” in the new year. The fighting would continue and the reservists would still be needed. In addition, the training of all officers is continuing. After the experience in the fight in the Gaza Strip, they will receive further training in order to then strengthen the ranks of the commanders, said Hagari.
01:19 a.m. – Drone shot down over air base in Iraq
According to insiders, defense systems shot down an armed drone over the Ain al-Assad air base in western Iraq. There were no casualties or damage, according to Iraqi military circles. US and other international forces are stationed at the base. It is the second attack in a matter of hours after a drone was intercepted over Erbil airport in northern Iraq on Sunday.
10:32 p.m. – Israeli minister calls for return of Jewish settlers to the Gaza Strip
The ultra-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Jewish settlers to return to the Gaza Strip. After the war against the radical Islamic Hamas, which rules in the Palestinian territory, the Gaza Strip must be under permanent control, the head of the Religious Zionism party told Israeli military radio on Sunday. “In order to be able to control the area militarily in the long term, we need a civilian presence.”
Israel should “encourage” the Palestinians in the area to relocate to other countries, Smotrich said. “If we act strategically right and encourage emigration, when there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not two million, the whole discourse of the day after (the war) will look very different,” he said. Israel will “help rehabilitate these refugees in other countries in a good and humane way, in cooperation with the international community and the Arab countries around us.”
The terrorist organization Hamas condemned Smotrich’s comments as a “vile mockery and a war crime.” Gazans will “steadfastly and steadfastly oppose any attempts to displace them from their lands and homes,” the group said.