Israel is under pressure from its main ally, the United States, to move to a lower-intensity war.

The Israeli military has announced that it will withdraw thousands of its soldiers from the besieged Gaza Strip. This is the first significant troop withdrawal since the war began there in October.

Israel is under increasing pressure from its main ally, the United States, to move to a lower-intensity war that causes fewer civilian casualties.

But heavy fighting continued in the southern city of Khan Younis as Israel reiterated its pledge to continue the war until its goals are achieved, including the destruction of the Palestinian group Hamas, which killed about 1,140 people in attacks on southern Israel in October 7, according to Israeli officials.

In a statement on Monday, the military said five brigades, or several thousand soldiers, would be withdrawn from the enclave for training and recovery.

Army spokesman Daniel Hagari did not say at a briefing on Sunday where the troop withdrawal was first announced whether the decision meant the war was entering a new phase.

“The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting and we are preparing accordingly,” he said.

New stage?

Shlomo Brom, a retired brigadier general who was previously in charge of strategic planning for the Israeli military, said the troop changes may be due to U.S. pressure and could signal a change in the way Israel handles the war leads.

“The war doesn’t stop,” Brom said. “It’s the beginning of a different way of working.”

Israeli officials said they would fight the war in three main phases. The first was intense shelling to clear access routes for ground troops and encourage civilians to evacuate. The second was the invasion of Gaza, which began on October 27.

With tanks and troops now overrunning much of the Gaza Strip and largely asserting control even as Palestinian gunmen continue ambushes from hidden tunnels and bunkers, the military is moving on to the third echelon, an Israeli official whose name is withheld given the sensitivity of the matter could become a problem, said the Reuters news agency.

“This will take at least six months and require intensive clean-up operations against the terrorists. “Nobody is talking about doves of peace being flown out of Shujayea,” the official was quoted as saying, referring to a fighting-ravaged district in the Gaza Strip.

Separately, the United States announced Monday that it would withdraw an aircraft carrier battle group from the eastern Mediterranean and replace it with an amphibious assault ship and accompanying warships.

At least 21,978 people have been killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza since October 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli military said last week that at least 172 soldiers had been killed since the ground operation began in late October, including 18 by friendly fire and 11 by weapons or equipment malfunctions.

Cross-border fighting

Since the outbreak of war, the Israeli military has been fighting cross-border battles with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

On Monday, Hezbollah said on Telegram that three of its fighters had been killed in southern Lebanon. Although there were no details about how they were killed, the groups said they were “martyred along the way.” [liberate] Jerusalem.”

The Israeli military said it struck a number of targets in Lebanon, including “military sites” where Hezbollah operated.

More than 100 Hezbollah fighters and nearly two dozen civilians, including children and the elderly, have died, according to Hezbollah and security sources who spoke to Reuters.