The Israeli army withdrew the forces of the 98th Military Division from Khan Yunis today, Sunday, 4.5 months after these forces penetrated into the city, and claimed that these forces “dismantled” a Hamas brigade. However, a few hours after this withdrawal, five rocket shells were fired from the Khan Yunis area towards the “Gaza envelope”, and Iron Dome intercepted two of them.

The Israeli army explained this withdrawal as coming to "exhaust intelligence combat", denied that it came in the wake of an American request, and that military operations will focus from now on the incursion of Israeli forces against specific targets in Khan Yunis, while ground operations continue in the northern Gaza Strip.

A senior Israeli officer said, “The logic in which we are today is not correct. We intend to enter any place we need to enter and create an operational opportunity and not be present in an area without the need for that. The 98th Division dismantled the brigades affiliated with Hamas in Khan Yunis and killed thousands of terrorists. We carried out what we were able to do.” It was implemented there,” according to what was reported by Israeli media.

The Israeli officer added that the division's withdrawal will allow those displaced from Rafah to return to Khan Yunis, but "we will continue to work there in accordance with operational demands. Our plans do not only address Rafah. We are preparing to fight there, but we are waiting for the approval of the political level." He pointed out that there is a need for the recovery of forces and fighting mechanisms.

The same officer considered that "the mission was to dismantle the Khan Yunis Brigade (in Hamas), and this order was carried out. The second mission was to return the kidnapped people and we did not succeed in that. The military operation in Al-Shifa Hospital influenced the decision to change the concept in the south of the Gaza Strip."

According to Israeli media, the Israeli army intends to deploy three military teams on the borders of the Gaza Strip, and they will be tasked with launching military operations inside the Gaza Strip “according to the need.”

Israeli Public Radio (KAN) reported that after the 98th Division withdrew from Khan Yunis, the forces of the 162nd Division and the “Hanahal” Brigade are still in the Gaza Strip, in order to prevent the return of residents to the northern Gaza Strip, and that Israeli army forces are deployed around the Gaza Strip after establishing a security belt inside the Gaza Strip in Recent months.

The website of the "Israel Hayom" newspaper quoted Israeli political officials as saying that the withdrawal of the 98th Division from Khan Yunis aims to evacuate hundreds of thousands of displaced people from Rafah, and it is another stage in the preparation for the invasion of Rafah.

Today, the Israeli army published data, according to which 604 soldiers were killed since the beginning of the war, including 256 soldiers killed since the beginning of the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, in late October, and 41 soldiers killed in “operational accidents.”

The data added that 3,193 male and female soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the war, including 1,552 soldiers since the beginning of the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, and 630 soldiers were injured in “operational accidents.” 26 soldiers are in hospitals with serious injuries.

The army described that about 10,500 people were injured due to psychological distress, and that 82% of them returned to fighting. Nearly 1,900 soldiers were exposed to events that would lead to shock and the development of symptoms in their aftermath, and 85% of them returned to combat after treatment.