The move signaled a new phase in its offensive, with an official saying the military would drawdown its forces and shift to a months-long phase of more localized operations.
Israeli aircraft and tanks stepped up strikes in southern Gaza overnight, residents said, after it announced plans to pull back some troops, a move the U.S. said signalled a gradual shift to lower intensity operations in the north of the enclave. Israel says the war in Gaza, which has reduced much of the territory to rubble, killing thousands and plunging its 2.3 million people into a humanitarian disaster, has many months to go. But it signalled a new phase in its offensive, with an Israeli official saying on Monday the military would draw down forces inside Gaza this month and shift to a months-long phase of more localised "mopping up" operations.
Israel said its troops killed dozens of militants in the north of the Gaza Strip in the past day, while its aircraft and tanks stepped up strikes in the south, after it announced plans to pull back some troops.
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Israeli aircraft and tanks stepped up strikes in southern Gaza overnight, residents said, after it announced plans to pull back some troops, a move the US said signaled a gradual shift to lower intensity operations in the north of the enclave. Israel says the war in Gaza, which has reduced much of the territory to rubble, killing thousands and plunging its 2.3 million people into a humanitarian disaster, has many months to go, Reuters reported.