Israel's Ben-Gvir says army withdrawal from northern Gaza ‘grave mistake’

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has sharply criticized a military decision to withdraw an army division from the northern Gaza Strip.

The army withdrew its 36th Division from the Gaza Strip on Monday for rest and training, while three other divisions remained in the Palestinian territory.

The move was seen as part of the Israeli army’s plans for a long war in the Gaza Strip.

“The decision to withdraw the Israeli army from Hamas strongholds in Gaza is a grave and dangerous mistake that will cost human lives,” Ben-Gvir said on X.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 24,285 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 61,154 others, according to local health authorities.

Israel says around 1,200 people have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio