The Israeli military said the war against Hamas would transition to a less intense phase, suggesting that Israeli forces are gradually withdrawing from Gaza after months of intense fighting in the Gaza Strip and will rely on more surgical missions for assassination operations in the future.
Victory?
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, chief spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), announced the change on Monday, claiming that smaller soldiers would carry out more one-off attacks than large-scale exercises that took place in the early stages of the war in the Palestinian enclave.
"The war is going to be a phase, there will be no ceremony in the transition, it's not a theatrical announcement," Hagari said. ”
The admiral said that while IDF operations had previously been focused on northern Gaza, they would continue to move south, bypassing cities such as Khan Younis and Deir Barah.
He noted that he expects more humanitarian aid to reach the besieged areas, and that human rights organizations and international organizations, including the United Nations, have warned of severe shortages of essential goods such as food, fuel and medicine.
Hagari elaborated that while there are still "** and **" in northern Gaza, they are not "operating within an organized military framework, and now we are operating there in [different] ways, and with different combinations of forces." ”
What he means is that the organizational framework of Hamas in northern Gaza has been wiped out, and all that remains is the scattered soldiers. ）
The New York Times, citing unnamed U.S.**, said that Israel had cut its military presence in northern Gaza by more than half, up from 50,000 troops there, and that the transition period should end in late January.
A similar statement was made by Israeli Defense Minister Yo** Gallant.
The situation in Gaza
Northern Gaza Strip
Following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, Palestinian guerrilla attacks on the remaining units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occurred from time to time. Heavy fighting was reported in the areas of Az-Zeitun and Al-Karama, where several armored vehicles were attacked, according to Palestinian **.
In addition, Hamas continues to have the capacity to bomb nearby Israeli communities outside the Gaza Strip, with sirens and air raid sirens sounding in Sderot, Neal Amu, Arumim and other settlements.
These rockets slap the Israeli military in the face in victory!
Circulating on the Internet** shows that some residents of northern Gaza will return to Gaza City and other settlements in the northern Gaza Strip.
The heart of the Gaza Strip
The IDF is carrying out numerous shelling and air strikes on the central Gaza Strip, with attacks on the Al-Maghazi and Nuseirat refugee camps, the settlements of Az-Zawaida and Deir al-Balah.
Israeli forces carried out several airstrikes near the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and school, where refugees gathered, and the Palestinian side said it had caused several civilians**.
The fighting took place mainly in the Al-Breij area, where the IDF had taken control of the outskirts and bombarded the central part of the settlement with artillery and aircraft. Palestinian guerrillas also remain capable of launching attacks and carrying out targeted mortar attacks in Israeli-controlled areas.
Southern Gaza Strip
The main fighting is taking place in Khan Younis and its environs, where the IDF is advancing south of the city, near the Islamic University in the Ma'an area. According to Palestinian reports, the Israelis are advancing in conjunction with forces from the direction of Kilbet Kuza in order to construct another encirclement.
Lebanese border
The situation on the border between Israel and Lebanon is deteriorating at an accelerated pace as Israeli drones carry out decapitation operations deep into Lebanese territory.
The killing of Saleh Al-Aruri, leader of the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas in the West Bank, and Haji Jawad, senior commander of the Allah Rezwan special forces, in Tavel sent the border on fire.
Shiite militants attacked the headquarters of the IDF Northern Command in the city of Sayfar with drones, which suffered minor property damage. According to Israel**, there were no **people** in this incident.
Allah members also reported 11 attacks on IDF positions in the northern part of the Jewish state in the past two days. According to the Lebanese side, a Merkava tank of an Israeli military detachment near the Ruwesat al-Assi facility and the Jala Alam base was hit by fire.
At the same time, the Israeli army continued to launch attacks on southern Lebanese territory, with the most intensive strikes on Kfajira and Annakura.
Yesterday, before the start of Jawad Tawil's funeral procession, Allah Air Force commander Ali Hussein Barji, was killed in an Israeli drone attack on the city of Kilbet Selm.
On 8 January, a week after the attack on the outskirts of Beirut, Israeli drones again carried out targeted attacks on Hebert Selm in the south of the country. Haji Jawad al-Tawil, a senior commander of Allah's Rezwan special forces, was killed in a rocket attack.
West Bank
IDF police continue to operate against suspected Hamas supporters in the West Bank. Arrests have all taken place in Jerusalem, Hebron, Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jenin, and there have been 25 Palestinians since yesterday**.
According to Palestinian humanitarian organizations, the number of detainees in the area has reached 5,755 since October 7, 2023.
During an attack in Tulkarem, a group of Palestinians trying to escape were shot at by an Israeli patrol. All three were killed, and an IDF armoured vehicle ran over the body of one of them, one of whom was carrying a rifle. Later, Qatar's Al Jazeera called them "resistance fighters".
The Husseins were in full swing again
The U.S. ** Command issued an official statement:
At around 9:15 p.m. (Sana'a time) on January 9, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels launched a sophisticated maritime attack consisting of Iranian-designed one-way attack drones (owa u**) anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the southern Red Sea, leading to international shipping routes and dozens of merchant ships in transit.
The USS D. D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS Graveley (DDG 107), and a joint attack by the U.S. Navy F A-18 were shot down18 OWA UAVs, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile, which targets the Laboon (DDG 58), USS Mason (DDG 87) and HMS Diamond (D34) in the UK.
This is the 26th attack on the Red Sea commercial shipping lanes by the Houthis since November 19. No loss of personnel** or property was reported.
On January 3, 14 countries, including the United States, issued a joint statement saying that "the Houthis will be held accountable for the consequences if they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, or the free flow of commerce in the region's critical waterways." ”
Iraqi Islamic resistance groups have again attacked the American base of the ConocoPhillips oil company's plant, located east of Deir ez-Zor in Syria. ** launched by the air defense facilities of the base in Harrir appeared on the Internet, and the Iraqi militia repeatedly tried to attack the base.
Under such pressure, British Defence Secretary Grant Shepps announced the dispatch of HMS HMS Richmond to the Red Sea to assist HMS Royal Navy Diamond in escort operations.