Al-Qassam Brigades announced in a statement that Israeli forces were forced to a premature withdrawal from various areas.
Israeli military spokespersons announced on Sunday the withdrawal of ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported.
Israeli Army Radio reported that the 98th Division, comprising three brigades, withdrew from the Khan Yunis area after four months of conflict, with the Nahal Brigade remaining in the Netzarim Corridor to control movement between northern and southern Gaza.
“The 98th Division, with its three brigades, withdrew from Khan Younis last night after the end of the operation there after fighting that lasted four months,” the Army Radio reported.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv confirmed that only one brigade remains in Gaza to prevent Palestinians from returning northwards.
ISRAELI MEDIA: The 98th Division’s withdrawal comes within the framework of preparations for a ground operation in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: The 98th Division withdraws from Khan Yunis.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) April 7, 2024
The withdrawal from Khan Yunis is reportedly linked to plans for an operation in Rafah.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported the withdrawal aims to create space for displaced persons from Rafah.
Israeli military sources claimed the withdrawal is not influenced by American pressure, emphasizing ongoing operations against the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas.
Palestinian sources told Anadolu news agency that Israeli occupation forces retreated from all western areas of the city of Khan Yunis while they remained stationed east of the city.
Israeli Channel 12 stated the completion of operations in Khan Yunis.
“As of this stage of the maneuver, the Israeli army has completed its operation in Khan Yunis and soldiers have completed their exit from there,” the Israeli Channel 12 said.
It indicated that “the Israeli army will focus on the method of raids based on available intelligence information.”
AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: The occupation is forced to end its operations before achieving its goals.
Every time the occupation army returned to areas where it was supposed to find no resistance, it was surprised by violent and qualitative resistance.
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‘Forced to Withdraw’
Al-Qassam Brigades announced in a statement that Israeli forces were forced to a premature withdrawal from various areas, due to successful operations carried out by the Palestinian Resistance.
The military wing of the Hamas movement said that the occupation entered most areas of the Gaza Strip and destroyed them completely, praising that it had succeeded in dismantling the Brigades.
However, according to the statement, every time the Israeli army returned to areas that were supposedly under its control, it was surprised with qualitative resistance operations.
Growing Stronger – Fourteen Israeli Soldiers Killed, Others Wounded
The Brigades added that the Israeli occupation army was forced to end its operations even before achieving its goals.
The announcement of the withdrawal from Khan Yunis comes after an operation carried out by the Al-Qassam Brigades on Saturday, which reportedly killed 14 Israeli soldiers and injured many more.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 33,175 Palestinians have been killed, and 75,886 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(PC, Anadolu, AJA)
