Middle East Crisis: Israel Reduces Ground Troops in Southern Gaza At the War’s Six-Month Mark (2024)

Israel’s military, an official said, was preparing for ‘follow-up missions’ that included Rafah.

The army said that the 98th Division had left Khan Younis in southern Gaza in order “to recuperate and prepare for future operations.” Israeli news media reported that the withdrawal of the 98th meant there were no Israeli troops actively maneuvering in southern Gaza.

It was unclear what the latest drawdown of forces meant for the timing of an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where more than a million people have sought refuge.

Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said the military was preparing for “follow-up missions” that included Rafah. “We will reach a point when Hamas no longer controls the Gaza Strip and does not function as a military framework that poses a threat to the citizens of the state of Israel,” he said.

The Biden administration has warned that a ground invasion of Rafah would be catastrophic and has pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue alternatives. But Mr. Netanyahu insisted on Sunday that Israel was determined to “complete the elimination of Hamas in all of the Gaza Strip, including Rafah.”

Osama Asfour, 41, a resident of Khan Younis who is sheltering in a tent in Rafah, said the army’s announcement did not make him want to return to his city — and his destroyed home — anytime soon.

“The military might say it left today, but they can come back tomorrow,” Mr. Asfour, who had worked at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said in an interview. “I’m not going to go on an adventure with my life and my family’s lives.”

Even so, Ahmed al-Soufi, a local official in Rafah, said he had noticed some displaced people in the city were returning to Khan Younis on Sunday.

A senior White House official said he was uncertain what the withdrawal of the 98th Division meant for the future of the war.

“It’s hard to know exactly what that tells us right now,” John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said on ABC’s “This Week.” “As we understand it, and through their public announcements, it is really just about rest and refit for these troops that have been on the ground for four months, and not necessarily, that we can tell, indicative of some coming new operation for these troops.”

The departure of the 98th came about four months after Israeli forces invaded southern Gaza. Since the start of the war, the army has returned to areas of Gaza that its forces had previously left, especially in the north. Military officials have said that Hamas has tried to re-establish itself in parts of the north in the wake of Israel’s withdrawals.

Last week, the military pulled back from Al-Shifa Hospital in the north after a two-week-long operation. It had first raided the hospital in November. This time the troops left behind what appeared to be a wasteland following extended gun battles with Palestinian militants in and around the complex.

Mohammed Radi, 36, a displaced restaurateur from Gaza City who has been sheltering in Rafah with his family, said he was tired of the news about Palestinians in the enclave being killed and, more than anything, wanted the war to end.

“I feel frustrated and mentally crushed,” he said in an interview. “We are exhausted after six months in tents.”

Iyad Abuheweila and Erica L. Green contributed reporting.

The war is now the longest involving Israel since the 1980s.

Though Israel has routed Hamas in much of Gaza, and fighting seems to have slowed, the conflict is being drawn out by Israel’s reluctance to either hold ground it has captured or transfer its control to an alternative Palestinian leadership, creating a power vacuum.

In some places, that vacuum has allowed remnants of Hamas to regroup, prompting Israeli troops to raid parts of northern Gaza that they had already conquered and vacated, like Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Elsewhere, the vacuum has led to a breakdown in civil order, making it harder to safely distribute badly needed aid. Scores of Palestinians have been killed around aid convoys, amid chaos and Israeli fire.

The stasis has been prolonged by Hamas’s determination to hold onto Rafah, the city in southern Gaza that has become its last major stronghold, and by Israel’s decision to hold off on a ground invasion that U.S. officials have warned would create a humanitarian disaster.

By dragging on for so long, the war has become the longest involving Israel since the 1980s. And the ramifications extend far beyond the Gazan border — including increasing domestic pressure on President Biden, who has continued to supply arms to Israel even as he expresses greater alarm over its actions, and the threat of the violence spilling over into a regional conflict between Israel and allies of Hamas, like Iran.

The war has also derailed U.S.-led efforts for Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize diplomatic relations and prompted protests in Arab states allied with the United States.

At the start of the year, some mediators thought it might be possible to secure a grand deal to end the war; transfer power in Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, the organization that runs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank; seal Saudi-Israeli diplomatic ties; and create a pathway toward a sovereign Palestinian state.

But the longer the war has continued, the more quixotic that vision has seemed. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, does not want to cede control of Gaza to the authority, and Saudi Arabia says it will not normalize relations before a Palestinian state is created.

“The war is not over and one cannot see a path forward to end it in a way that would bring about stability and humanitarian relief on the scale that is needed in any foreseeable future,” said Shibley Telhami, an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the University of Maryland.

Analysts say that the longer the deadlock continues, the higher the chances of serious mistakes, like the Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers on Monday in what Israel called a case of misidentification.

“The longer the fighting continues without a viable plan to stabilize Gaza and provide basic services, the greater the chances of more mishaps that kill aid workers operating in what is effectively an anarchic environment,” said Michael Koplow, an analyst at Israel Policy Forum, a research group based in New York.

Adam Rasgon contributed reporting.

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At a rally for hostages, some boo when a congressman calls for aid for Gaza.

While some people in the crowd applauded, others began to boo as he went on: “We must do more, because we are better than Hamas. We must do more to bring food and assistance to those who are suffering.” The heckling grew louder and continued until the end of the congressman’s remarks as more attendees joined in, some chanting “bring them home” or “shame.”

A crowd that appeared to number in the thousands had gathered for the demonstration, whose date was chosen to mark six months since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. As police officers looked on, participants arrived holding Israeli flags and signs that said “Bring them home now.” The event was coordinated by over 150 organizations, including synagogues, pro-Israel groups and the New York chapter of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which was founded in the wake of the attacks. About 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, according to the Israeli authorities.

Mr. Nadler, introduced as a “leader who is a strong supporter of Israel and a fighter of antisemitism,” was among a list of speakers that included family members of hostages and Naftali Bennett, a former Israeli prime minister.

The response to Mr. Nadler reflected a divide among Jewish New Yorkers over the way Israel is conducting its war against Hamas. Some reject any criticism of Israel, while others, including activist groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, have rallied for a cease-fire, denouncing the Israeli and U.S. governments over the mounting death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“The minority who interfered with Nadler’s speech does not represent the Hostages Families Forum, nor the families themselves,” Shany Granot-Lubaton, an organizer with Hostages and Missing Families Forum New York, said after the event. She said the rally showed “how our people can be united even though we can have so many different opinions on so many different things” and that freeing the hostages was “the number one priority of all of us — right to left, secular and Orthodox.”

“We respect and thank Congress member Nadler for coming today and for being a part of our fight to bring every one of our hostages back home,” she added. “We know that he’s been working tirelessly for this cause.”

Robert Gottheim, Mr. Nadler’s chief of staff, said the congressman wasn’t saying anything extraordinary. “We have to have humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people; that goes without saying,” Mr. Gottheim said.

Mr. Nadler paused amid the booing and heckling before continuing and wrapping up his speech with a reference to the story of Passover, Mr. Gottheim said. “The thrust of his statement was what everyone was there for: Bring the hostages back.”

The event also included an installation meant to convey the suffering of those still in captivity. Seven people, wrapped in chains, sat inside dog cages on the ground as three others stood nearby with their hands chained together. All were dressed in white clothes with red paint smeared across their bodies.

Joseph Goldstein contributed reporting.

World Central Kitchen’s founder says Israel seems to be waging a war on ‘humanity itself.’

“This doesn’t seem a war against terror,” Mr. Andrés said. “This doesn’t seem, anymore, a war about defending Israel. This really, at this point, seems it’s a war against humanity itself.”

Mr. Andrés said he believed that Mr. Biden could support Israel’s right to defend itself while also defending the rights of Palestinians “not to die just trying to be getting a piece of bread.”

“I think both truths can live in the same place,” Mr. Andrés said. “You can be a friend of Israel, and at the same time you can be telling your partner in the Middle East, you cannot be conducting war in such a way.”

Mr. Andrés said that when he spoke with Mr. Biden after the deadly strikes, he spoke on behalf of the thousands of civilians who have been affected by the war, not just the World Central Kitchen workers killed last week.

“This is happening for way too long,” he said. “It’s been six months of targeting anything that moves.”

Israel said the deaths of the aid workers — one a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, and others from Australia, Britain, Gaza and Poland — were a “grave mistake” that resulted in the dismissal and reprimand of military personnel after a preliminary investigation found a number of failures and broken protocols.

But Mr. Andrés said that the investigation should be “much more deeper,” and that “the perpetrator cannot be investigating himself.” He reiterated his stance that the workers, whose vehicles were clearly marked and whose movements had been coordinated with Israeli forces, became targets.

“Obviously this was targeted,” said Mr. Andrés, who became visibly emotional as he talked about workers he knew personally. “We could argue that the first one, let’s say, was a mistake. The second? The third?”

John F. Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the United States was still going through Israel’s investigation, and would “reserve judgment” until it was completed.

He added that while recent announcements from Israel, such as opening new aid crossings and accountability measures in response to the World Central Kitchen strikes, were “welcome and important, can’t be the end of it.”

“We’ve got to see sustained changes in the way they’re operating on the ground and the way they are allowing humanitarian assistance to get in, unmolested,” he said. (COGAT, the Israeli agency that oversees aid deliveries into Gaza, said later on social media that 322 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to Gaza on Sunday, which it said was the most in a single day since the start of the war.)

Mr. Kirby acknowledged that the people of Israel face continued threats, including from Hamas and Iran, and “still have a need to defend themselves.” But, he added, “How they do that matters,” and he reiterated that the United States could change its policy toward Israel if its tactics do not change.

But Mr. Andrés suggested on Sunday that the United States has been moving too slowly, and should have already taken action over Israel’s conduct of the war. “I think ‘there will be consequences’ is part of the problem,” he said, adding that there “should be already consequences.”

Israeli forces need a “real reckoning on how they conduct war,” Mr. Andrés said.

“Who are the enemy?” he added. “Who really are they fighting?”

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Hamas reiterates its call for Israel to withdraw from Gaza during talks in Cairo.

Officials from the United States and Qatar, which has played a key role in the negotiations, along with Egypt, were also expected to take part in the latest round of talks, along with a delegation from Israel. The delegation was to fly to Cairo on Sunday, according to an Israeli official and a person familiar with the matter. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to communicate with the media.

The talks, which have been stalled for months, come as tensions in the region are mounting amid concerns that Iran will retaliate for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed senior commanders of Iran’s elite Quds Force.

President Biden is pressing participants to make a deal, but it is not clear whether new proposals will be on the table.

Mr. Biden spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel by phone on Thursday, repeating his call for a negotiated deal that would result in an “immediate cease-fire” and the release of hostages. The following day Mr. Biden sent messages to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, urging them to increase pressure on Hamas to make a deal, a senior administration official said.

Mr. Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that there would be no cease-fire without the return of Israel’s hostages. “It simply will not happen,” he said in remarks shared by his office from the start of a cabinet meeting.

The outlines of a possible agreement have been clear for months, but the details have proven divisive. The terms would include a temporary cease-fire, the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 assault on Israel and the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The head of the American delegation in Cairo is William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, and David Barnea, the chief of Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, has frequently led the Israeli delegation. The Egyptians and Qataris have served as intermediaries between Hamas and Israel, whose representatives do not speak directly.

Hamas had said on Saturday that it was sticking to a proposal that it submitted in mid-March, including total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which Israeli officials have vehemently rejected.

The talks come amid mounting anger in Israel toward the government on the six-month anniversary of the war. Protesters have rallied in cities across the country, demanding that Mr. Netanyahu do more to bring the hostages home. At a vigil in Tel Aviv for a hostage whose body was retrieved by the Israeli military, relatives of hostages still held in Gaza called on Saturday night for immediate government action.

Amid fears of an Iranian strike, Israel says it’s prepared for ‘any scenario.’

On Sunday, the Israeli government said that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had held an “operational situation assessment” with the military.

“Upon completing the assessment, Minister Gallant emphasized that the defense establishment has completed preparations for responses in the event of any scenario that may develop vis-à-vis Iran,” the government said in a statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that groups backed by Iran had been behind “many attacks” on Israel over the past six months, saying on Sunday that they had been “intensifying their threats.”

“Israel is prepared — defensively and offensively — for any attempt to attack us, from anywhere,” he said ahead of a government meeting, according to remarks released by his office.

Israel placed its military on high alert and mobilized additional air defense units in response to the threats from Iran, which continued on Saturday during funerals for the commanders killed in the Israeli attack in Damascus, Syria.

Iran’s army chief said during one of the funeral ceremonies on Saturday that Iran would respond to Israel, and that it would “determine the time, place and method of the operation.” He added that the retaliation would be intended to inflict “maximum damage on the enemy.”

Israeli combat soldiers expecting to go on leave over the weekend were ordered to remain at their stations, the Israeli military has said, and additional reserve units have been called up to reinforce Israel’s air defense system.

The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said in a briefing Sunday night that his forces “are prepared.”

“We have good defensive systems, and we know how to act forcefully against Iran in both near and distant places,” he said.

Analysts have cautioned that while both sides probably want to avoid full-blown war involving Iran, any miscalculation could spill over and lead to a broader escalation. Israel has been trading fire with Iran-backed militant groups for months, particularly the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah across its northern border, since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 ignited the war in Gaza.

Israel’s military said on Sunday morning that its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah targets overnight deep inside Lebanon, in the Bekaa Valley. Hours later, rocket warning sirens sounded in northern Israel.