<p>The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel-defense-forces-idf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israel Defense Forces (IDF)</a> insisted on Sunday that the war against Hamas is not coming to a close following <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-withdraws-ground-troops-from-south-gaza-leaving-just-one-brigade-in-enclave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> of a ground troop withdrawal from southern Gaza.</p>
<p>Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesperson for the IDF, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-68744024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly told the BBC</a> that the military completed its mission in the Khan Younis area, leading to a rotation of troops while a focus of the campaign remains on the southern city of Rafah.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is a decline in the forces but there are more operations that need to be conducted. Rafah is clearly a stronghold. We need to dismantle Hamas&#8217; capabilities wherever they are,&#8221; Lerner said.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is another stage in the war effort&#8221; in which the IDF&#8217;s campaign is &#8220;continuously evolving,&#8221; he continued, adding, &#8220;The war is not over. War can only be over when they [hostages] come home and when Hamas is gone.&#8221;</p>
<p>IDF forces have been fighting in Gaza for six months after Hamas launched an attack on Israel in October that killed roughly 1,200 people. An IDF spokesperson <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/how-many-israeli-hostages-still-held-6-months-gaza-1887290" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Newsweek</a> on Friday a little more than half of the approximately 250 hostages taken are still being held.</p>
<p>The Times of Israel <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-withdraws-ground-troops-from-south-gaza-leaving-just-one-brigade-in-enclave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Sunday the IDF had withdrawn all of its &#8220;maneuvering ground forces&#8221; from Gaza, leaving just one brigade to protect a corridor that bisects the territory, cutting the northern part off from the rest of the strip.</p>
<p>Holly Williams, a reporter for CBS News, <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1776992560692535599" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the remaining Israeli troops are on Gaza&#8217;s border with Israel and noted that a colleague informed her that people can &#8220;move freely&#8221; from southern Gaza up to central Gaza for the first time in three months.</p>
<p>John Kirby, a National Security Council spokesman, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-4-7-24-chef-jos-andrs/story?id=108949216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told ABC News</a> that the U.S. believes the pullout is &#8220;really just about rest and refit for these troops&#8221; after four months of fighting and &#8220;not necessarily &#8230; indicative of some coming new operation for these troops.&#8221;</p>
<p>Israel has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netanyahu-approves-idf-operation-in-rafah-hamas-last-stronghold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gearing up</a> for an invasion of Rafah, where it was estimated that more than half the strip’s 2.3 million population had gathered during the conflict, to root out a Hamas stronghold and free hostages who may be held there.</p>
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<p>Although the United States continues to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/29/us-weapons-israel-gaza-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supply weapons</a> to Israel, the Biden administration has voiced opposition to the plan for a Rafah ground operation and is pushing for a ceasefire.</p>
<p>In an address on Sunday, reportedly delivered hours after the reports of the partial withdrawal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-withdraws-all-ground-troops-southern-gaza-leaving-one-idf-brigade-enclave" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no standing down</a> until the hostage situation is resolved.</p>
<p>&#8220;Citizens of Israel, there is no war more just than this one, and we are determined to achieve total victory,&#8221; <a href="https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-after-withdrawal-we-will-destroy-hamas-including-in-rafah/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netanyahu said</a>, adding, &#8220;I have made it clear to the international community: There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages. It simply will not happen.&#8221;</p>

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IDF Pulls Ground Troops From Southern Gaza, Stresses ‘War Is Not Over’ Until Hostages Are Free