Israeli army withdraws 5 brigades from Gaza

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army on Sunday withdrew five brigades from the Gaza Strip, in a move that indicated a lengthy fighting throughout 2024.

According to The Times of Israel newspaper, the 460th Armored Brigade, the 261st Brigade, the 828th Brigade, the 14th Reserve Armored Brigade; and 551st Reserve Paratroopers Brigade have all been released.

The brigades tasked with training soldiers will return to Gaza to carry out their usual activity, while the reservists will be released to help bounce back Israel’s economy, the daily said.

On Dec. 21, the army withdrew the Golani Brigades from the Gaza Strip after heavy losses in the Palestinian territory.

According to military figures, at least 506 soldiers have been killed since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip from the air and ground since the Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, killing at least 21,822 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 56,451 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

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 medicine.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Ankara