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Israel To Withdraw Some Forces From Gaza To "Re-Energise" Economy In 2024

admin Jan 1, 2024 0

Israel To Withdraw Some Forces From Gaza To 'Re-Energise' Economy In 2024

Israel says it has killed more than 8,000 Palestinian fighters. (File)

Jerusalem:

Israel is withdrawing some forces from Gaza to shift to more targeted operations against Hamas, and is partially returning reservists to civilian life to help the economy as the country enters the new year set for a prolonged war, an Israeli official said.

The official said the war will continue in the Palestinian enclave until the Islamist faction is toppled, adding that some of the troops withdrawn will prepare for a possible second front in Lebanon.

Since launching the Gaza offensive after the cross-border Hamas rampage of Oct. 7, Israeli officials have said they planned to wage it in three main stages. The first was intense shelling to clear access routes for ground forces and encourage civilians to evacuate. The second was the invasion that began on Oct. 27.

With tanks and troops having now overrun much of the Gaza Strip, largely asserting control despite Palestinian gunmen continuing their ambushes from hidden tunnels and bunkers, the military is moving to the third stage of the war, said the official, who could not be identified by name given the sensitivity of the issue.

“This will take six months at least, and involve intense mopping-up missions against the terrorists. No one is talking about doves of peace being flown from Shajaia,” the official told Reuters, referring to a Gaza district ravaged by fighting.

In addition to the 1,200 people killed on Oct. 7, Hamas took some 240 hostage. Israel is also determined to recover the 129 still held in Gaza. Qatari- and Egyptian-mediated truce efforts have raised the prospect of some of them being freed.

Israel drafted 300,000 reservists for the war – an estimated 10% to 15% of its workforce. Some were quickly discharged, but government sources have said between 200,000 and 250,000 were still serving and absent from jobs or universities.

The official said the withdrawal was focused on reservists and designed to “re-energise the Israeli economy”.

But the official said some of the troops pulled out of Gaza in the south would be prepared for rotation to the northern border with Lebanon, whose Hezbollah operatives have been exchanging fire with Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israel has warned that, if Hezbollah does not back down, a full-on Lebanon war looms. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, whose allies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have also been carrying out longer-range attacks against Israel.

“The situation on the Lebanese front will not be allowed to continue. This coming six-month period is a critical moment,” the official said, adding that Israel would convey a similar message to a U.S. envoy conducting shuttle missions to Beirut.

In Gaza, the Israel-Hamas war has inflicted unprecedented devastation, with the health ministry reporting almost 22,000 fatalities, many of them civilian. Israel says it has killed more than 8,000 Palestinian fighters – suggesting that, by its own accounting, Hamas retains core personnel. Pre-war Israeli assessment were that the group had around 30,000 fighters.

The Israeli military announced on Saturday it was sending some reservists home as part of what top commander Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi has deemed a “reconfiguration” of forces.

“From the first moments of this war, we said it would take long,” Halevi told troops on Tuesday. “Will we ultimately be able to say there are no more foes around the State of Israel? I think that is overly ambitious. But we will deliver a different security situation – safe and, as much as possible, stable too.”

Israel has listed 174 soldiers – many of them reservists – as killed in Gaza fighting and nine on the Lebanese border.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

"Even Pakistan…": Waugh Wants ICC, India To Step In As Teams Ignore Test

admin Jan 1, 2024 0

Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh has slammed the International Cricket Council and top cricket boards, including the BCCI, for not caring about Test cricket after South Africa named a depleted red-ball squad for the tour of New Zealand, prioritising its T20 league over the longest format. Cricket South Africa (CSA) have named a second-string Test squad which has seven uncapped players, including a new captain, for next month’s two-Test series against New Zealand. The top South African cricketers are contracted to play in the second season of the SA20, the T20 league launched by CSA and Indian Premier League investors, which clashes with the tour.

According to a CSA ruling, no player contracted to SA20 franchises is eligible for selection for the Tests.

“Obviously, they don’t care. It’s going to happen if the South African cricket board are any indication of the future, keeping their best players at home,” Waugh told the Sydney Morning Hearld.

“If I was New Zealand, I wouldn’t even play the series. I don’t know why they’re even playing. Why would you when it shows a lack of respect for New Zealand cricket?” Initially, Waugh had taken to Instagram to raise his concern.

“Is this a defining moment in the death of Test cricket? Surely the ICC along (with) the cricket boards of India, England and Australia must step in to protect the purest form of the game.

“History and tradition must count for something. If we stand by and allow profits to be the defining criteria, the legacy of (Sir Don) Bradman, (WG) Grace and (Sir Garfield) Sobers will be irrelevant,” he wrote.

It’s not the first time South Africa has prioritised its domestic T20 league over international cricket. Last year, they forfeited an ODI series in Australia to have their best players feature in that league.

“If the ICC or someone doesn’t step in shortly then Test cricket doesn’t become Test cricket because you’re not testing yourself against the best players.

“I understand why players don’t come. They’re not getting paid properly.

“I don’t understand why ICC or the top countries, who are making a lot of money, don’t just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium, so people are incentivised to play Test cricket.

“Otherwise, they just play T10 or T20. The public are the ones who are going to suffers because it’s not the full side playing, so it’s not Test cricket,” Waugh said.

With neither Pakistan nor the West Indies sending their full-strength teams to Australia for the Test series, Waugh fears the trend will continue.

“It’s pretty obvious what the problem is. The West Indies aren’t sending their full-strength side (to Australia this summer). They haven’t picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.

“Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn’t play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now. Even Pakistan didn’t send a full side (to Australia),” he added.

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