IDF IDF withdraws ground troops from south Gaza as Israel-Hamas conflict enters seventh month
The Israel Defense Forces withdrew its manoeuvring ground forces from the Gaza Strip on Sunday, a move made at a time when the conflict between the two groups entered its sixth month.
According to reports, the IDF has kept just one brigade to secure a corridor splitting the Palestinian enclave.
Troops of the 98th Division were pulled out of the Khan Younis area after four straight months of fighting, the IDF said as quoted by The Times of Israel.
The Nahal Brigade, which is currently in the region, has been tasked with securing the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which crosses Gaza from the Be’eri area in southern Israel to the Strip’s coast.
Rishi Sunak says UK will continue to stand by Israel’s right to defeat the threat from Hamas
As the conflict entered its sixth month, British PM Rishi Sunak issued a statement where he said: "Six months later, Israeli wounds are still unhealed. Families still mourn and hostages are still held by Hamas."
"We continue to stand by Israel’s right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists and defend their security," he said.
"This terrible conflict must end. The hostages must be released. The aid – which we have been straining every sinew to deliver by land, air and sea – must be flooded in," he said.
Highlighting the issue of ceasefire, Sunak said, "The children of Gaza need a humanitarian pause immediately, leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire."
Gaza and healthcare situation
With the largest hospital in Gaza largely destroyed and out of action, access to healthcare has now become “totally inadequate” following six months of brutal fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday.
That’s the assessment following a WHO-led multi-agency mission to Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza on 5 April which examined the extent of destruction following a weeks-long Israeli offensive aimed at rooting out militant forces who were allegedly operating inside.
The highly complex mission was conducted in collaboration with the acting Hospital Director.
Prior to the mission, WHO’s efforts to reach the hospital to evacuate patients and staff and conduct an assessment, were denied, delayed or impeded six times between 25 March and 1 April.
Sunday marked the completion of the sixth month since the conflict between Israel and Hamas started on October 7.
The Hamas attack left 1200 people dead and beginning of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip which has left around 33,000 people dead.
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