Israeli army shifts to 3rd phase of Gaza war: Report

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army has shifted to the third phase of its war on the Gaza Strip, according to local media on Thursday.

The Israeli army has not made any official declaration, but military operations in the Palestinian territory, including the withdrawal of five brigades, suggested that it has already started the third phase of the war, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.

The army now focuses on localized operations against Hamas in several areas in Gaza, KAN said.

The broadcaster said the army is expected to end its military operations in al-Daraj and Al-Tuffah neighborhoods east of Gaza City by next week.

According to Israeli media, the army will focus more on targeted airstrikes, withdraw most of its forces from Gaza and establish a buffer zone on the border with Gaza as part of the third phase of the war.

Israel has launched air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 22,313 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,296 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicines.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio