Israel changes its war strategy The hill

the Israel Defense Forces The Israeli army began a new phase of the war against the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Five brigades – consisting of several thousand soldiers – will withdraw from the Gaza Strip in the coming weeks.

Mark RegevA senior adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said the cuts were necessary to rotate forces in an expected long war.

“We have to be prepared for the long term,” Regev said. Sky News interview. “We have to get the troops out now to relieve them.”

The new phase comes after American officials traveled to Israel last month and pressured officials to reduce the fighting any further 20,000 One person has died in Gaza, based on local health figures.

However, Israeli officials say the war will continue throughout 2024 in a less intense phase.

This was evident on Tuesday, when Israel allegedly killed a senior Hamas official Lebanon Who was deputy head of the political bureau of the Palestinian movement.

Hamas vowed to avenge the killing Saleh al-ArouriHe is the highest-ranking official in the armed group to die since the outbreak of war on October 7.

Palestinian militants also reported on Iranian military news cable The channel that said Israel had suffered “huge losses” in Gaza and would fail in 2024.

Israeli army spokesman Admiral. Daniel Hagery He said on Tuesday that Israel is ready to completely defeat Hamas.

“The most important thing we have to say tonight is that we are focused and continue to focus on fighting Hamas,” Hajari said.

Read full coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas on TheHill.com.