2024-01-17 07:17:00
(CNN) — A far-right Israeli government minister criticized the country’s military’s decision to withdraw a division of the army from Gaza, exposing new divisions among lawmakers over the military offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said a “barrage of rockets” launched from Gaza toward Israel on Tuesday morning “demonstrates once once more that the occupation of Gaza is necessary for the realization of combat objectives.”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that the 36th division, comprising armored, engineering and infantry companies, was withdrawing from Gaza following 80 days, in the most significant sign yet of the shift to a new phase of combat that some Israeli officials have been promising.
A growing chorus of leaders condemned the spiral of deaths in Gaza, where the deadly Israeli military offensive since October 7 decimated swaths of territory and left more than 2.2 million people exposed to famine, deadly diseases and forced displacement.
Israeli attacks on Gaza killed at least 24,100 Palestinians and injured 60,834 others, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. CNN cannot independently confirm the figures due to the difficulty of reporting from the war zone.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, pictured on December 18 in Tel Aviv, announced the withdrawal of some troops from Gaza on January 15. It was the most significant sign yet of a new phase in the Israeli military offensive. (Credit: Violeta Santos Moura/Archyde.com)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated this Monday that the “intensive maneuver phase” of the Israeli military offensive in northern and southern Gaza “will end soon.”
The Israeli military is working to “eliminate pockets of resistance” in northern Gaza, Gallant said: “We will achieve this through raids, airstrikes, special operations and additional activities.”
Following the October 7 attacks, Gallant stated that the original plan was for the “intensive maneuver phase” of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza to last approximately three months. But, he warned that the Israeli military adapts its operations “according to the reality on the ground” and “our intelligence.”
An IDF spokesperson told CNN that the 36th division has withdrawn from Gaza “for a period of refreshment and training,” adding that the division’s future movements are yet to be decided.
“At the end of the period, and in accordance with the assessment of the situation, a decision will be made on the continuation of operational activity of the division forces in accordance with operational need,” the spokesperson added.
The withdrawal means that three IDF combat divisions now remain in Gaza, along with special forces, according to the spokesman.
Among the units still on the ground in Gaza is the 98th Division, which operates in central Gaza and is the largest division created in IDF history. The IDF does not comment on the number of its troops in Gaza, but each division comprises multiple brigades that can include thousands of soldiers each.
Divisions in Netanyahu’s cabinet
Ben Gvir’s comments highlight the tensions within the Israeli government, and within the defense and security establishment in general, over the degree of presence Israel should maintain in Gaza following the war.
Earlier this month, members of the Israeli cabinet discussed plans for the future of Gaza following the war and how to handle investigations into security failures surrounding the Hamas attacks of October 7.
The public dispute on January 4 followed what one source described as a “brawl” at a security cabinet meeting. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said a “stormy discussion” had taken place, while former Defense Minister Benny Gantz claimed a “politically motivated attack” had been launched.
The security cabinet split concerned how to handle investigations into the October 7 attack on Israel, including the Israeli military’s inability to anticipate it, as well as how to approach the war going forward.
If the government collapses, Israel would likely face new elections that Netanyahu would lose.
Meanwhile, some far-right politicians advocate for the full reoccupation of Gaza and the possible return of Jewish settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure from the United States to guarantee a prominent role for the Palestinian Authority, recently declared that Israel has “no intention to permanently occupy Gaza.”
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has forcibly displaced at least 1.93 million people, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East. Thousands of families have been displaced several times as the Israeli offensive has moved into new areas.
Regional actors in the Middle East have repeatedly compared the massive displacement of Palestinians in Gaza to the “Nakba” or catastrophe, an Arabic term for the expulsion or flight of Palestinians from their cities during the founding of Israel in 1948.
— CNN’s Richard Allen Greene, Niamh Kennedy and Lauren Izso contributed to this report.
1705493108
#withdrawal #Israeli #troops #Gaza #generates #divisions #Netanyahu #government
