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Jan. 1 (UPI) -- The Israeli military says it is withdrawing five brigades from fighting in the Gaza Strip, marking a new phase in the war against Hamas, but cautioned fighting will likely go on for several more months. The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday the move is part of their third phase of operations in Gaza, in which they expect fighting to continue during the new year.
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The IDF said overall, there are seven brigades still fighting in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. Officials said they are keeping maximum forces fighting in southern Gaza, maintaining its forces to deal with central Gaza.
The 162nd Division continued its activity in Daraj and Tuffah, which are parts of Gaza City, on Sunday while the 36th Division battled Hamas in central Gaza's al-Bureij.
The 98th, 99th and Gaza divisions are set up in the Khan Younis, in Gaza's south.
In the third phase, the IDF said it will only need enough forces to keep Hamas from reconstituting in areas it once dominated. Once Phase 3 has fully transitioned into place, the military expects fighting to continue from three to nine months.
"The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting, and we are preparing accordingly," Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters on Monday, pointing out that the withdrawal simply means a shift in tactics and not a decrease in the intensity of fighting.
The announcement comes after Hamas launched a fresh rocket attack on Tel Aviv overnight on New Year's Day. IDF's Iron Dome anti-missile system, however, intercepted most of the rockets and no injuries were reported.
Despite the attack, the IDF said they are cautiously optimistic with the consistent decrease in the number of missile launches from Gaza in the last month -- including to the area surrounding Gaza.
