IDF withdraws all troops from southern Gaza 

Only one brigade remains in the Strip; terrorists in Khan Yunis fire rocket barrage at Israeli towns.

(April 7, 2024 / JNS)

The Israel Defense Forces has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, with only one brigade remaining in the coastal enclave, according to reports on Sunday.

This comes after four months of fighting in the former Hamas stronghold of Khan Yunis and six months since the start of the war.

According to IDF sources on Sunday, the IDF’s 98th Division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis. The division left the Gaza Strip to recuperate and prepare for future operations. A significant force led by the 162nd Division and the division’s Nahal Brigade continues to operate in the Gaza Strip, and will preserve the IDF’s freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence-based operations, the sources said.

The move also comes after last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again reiterated that the IDF would defeat Hamas by entering the last terrorist stronghold of Rafah, south of Khan Yunis.

“There is no victory without entering Rafah; there is no victory without destroying the Hamas battalions there,” said Netanyahu in a primetime address, adding that the operation “will take time, but it will happen.”