The Israeli military announced Monday that it would begin withdrawing several thousand soldiers from Gaza, at least temporarily. This would be the largest publicly announced withdrawal since the start of the war.
The military cited mounting damage to Israel's economy after nearly three months of war mobilization with no end to the fighting in sight. Israel had been considering scaling back its operations and the United States has urged it to do so more quickly as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise. According to local health authorities, more than 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, stressed that the demobilization of some soldiers did not represent a compromise on Israel's intention to continue fighting and made no mention of American demands for a reduction. He indicated that some will be called back into service next year. Nevertheless, fighting remains intense across the Gaza Strip.
Reservists from at least two brigades would be sent home this week, the Israeli military said in a statement, and three brigades would be brought back for training.
“This step is expected to significantly reduce economic burdens and allow them to gather strength for upcoming activities next year,” the Israeli military said.
U.S. officials say Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is expected to return to Israel in early January for further talks on the war after meeting with a senior Netanyahu adviser in Washington last week, along with national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The three discussed moving to a different phase of the war to “focus on high-value Hamas targets,” a White House official said.
Israel began its campaign against Hamas after an attack by the Palestinian armed group in Israel killed 1,200 people and took more than 240 people hostage, according to Israeli authorities. In response, the Israeli government launched a campaign to overthrow Hamas rule in Gaza and authorized the mobilization of over 350,000 reservists for the war effort.
The draft increased the economic burden on hundreds of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes on Israel's borders after the attacks. Israel's economy is expected to shrink by 2 percent this quarter, the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, a nonpartisan think tank in Israel, said in late December, as many left the job market to join reserve duty or abandoned businesses in their hometowns.
Israel's leadership has continued to tell the public that it faces a lengthy military campaign, even as some critics have expressed skepticism about whether the goal of eliminating Hamas is ultimately feasible.
“The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting and we are preparing accordingly,” Rear Adm. Hagari told reporters in a televised news conference Sunday evening.
However, Israeli officials have said they intend to eventually move into a new phase of the war that would involve more targeted attacks against Hamas, rather than the full-scale ground invasion seen so far.
Months of war in Gaza have displaced more than 85 percent of Gaza's more than two million residents, many of whom have crowded into shrinking security zones in the south of the enclave, according to the United Nations. Many have sought refuge in hospitals and schools, where finding enough food and water has become a daily ordeal.
Fighting continued overnight Monday. Shortly after midnight – shortly after Israelis and Palestinians rang in the New Year – Hamas claimed responsibility for a rocket fire from Gaza that sent scores of people fleeing to bomb shelters in central Israel.
Israeli troops also attacked targets in the northern and central Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Monday, claiming it had eliminated a Hamas militant commander. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas.