Israeli aircraft and tanks stepped up strikes in southern Gaza overnight, residents said, after it announced plans to pullback some troops, a move the US said signalled a gradual shift to lower intensity operations in the north of the enclave.
Israel says the war in Gaza, which has reduced much of the territory to rubble, killing thousands and plunging its 2.3 million people into a humanitarian disaster, has many months to go.
But it signalled a new phase in its offensive, with an Israeli official saying on Monday the military would draw downforces inside Gaza this month and shift to a months-long phase of more localised “mopping up” operations.
The Israeli official said the troop reduction would allow some reservists to return to civilian life, shoring up Israel’s war-battered economy and free up units in case of a wider conflict in the north with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A US official said the decision appeared to indicate the start of a shift to lower-intensity operations in the north of the Palestinian enclave. Washington has been urging Israel to reduce the intensity of its military operation, amidst international calls for a ceasefire as the death toll mounts.
But residents said Israeli planes and tanks stepped up bombardment of the eastern and northern areas of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
