Israeli army starts reducing reserve forces in Gaza Strip

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army began reducing its reserve forces in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to Israeli media.

Israeli Army Radio said “the reduction of reserve forces in the Gaza Strip has commenced, as the 646th Paratroopers Brigade has recently left the city of Khan Younis.”

“The reservists will be discharged to their homes after serving in the army since Oct. 7,” it added.

The 646th Brigade, a reserve parachute unit established in 1974, has participated in most of the Israeli army's wars since then in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

“The army is working to keep only regular forces inside the Gaza Strip,” said Israeli Army Radio.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli army announced that 12 soldiers were wounded in the past 24 hours, including nine in ground battles in Gaza.​​​​​​​

The army also announced an increase in the number of officers and soldiers killed since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7 to 570, including 233 since the start of the ground war in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas. The ensuing Israeli attack has killed at least 28,663 and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide in the Gaza Strip, and South Africa filed a case with the International Court of Justice. In January, an interim ruling ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that civilians in Gaza receive humanitarian assistance.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala