Israel reduces troops in southern Gaza

JERUSALEM, April 07 (SABAH): The Israeli military has withdrawn more ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, leaving just one brigade there six months after the start of its offensive, a spokesperson for the force said on Sunday.

The military, which has been reducing numbers in Gaza since the start of the year to relieve reservists and growing pressure from its ally Washington to improve the humanitarian situation, did not give details on its reasons or the number of soldiers involved.

The move comes as Egypt prepares to host a new round of talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal. It was unclear whether the withdrawal would delay a long-threatened incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israeli leaders have said is needed to eliminate the Hamas movement ruling the Palestinian enclave.

Palestinian residents of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, which has come under Israeli bombardment in recent months, said they had seen Israeli forces leaving the centre of the city and retreating to the eastern districts. Israel’s offensive, launched after the shock attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, has focused in the past months on the south of the Gaza Strip.