Israeli army retreats from northern Gaza

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The Israeli army retreated Saturday from areas it reached in the Gaza Strip amid fierce fighting with Palestinian fighters that left dozens of Israeli soldiers killed or injured.

The retreat comes after Israel advanced inside the Gaza Strip in recent days from several axes.

Israeli warplanes, artillery and warships have intensified attacks on Gaza City and northern Gaza, according to Anadolu.

On the other side, Hamas armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it attacked Israeli soldiers, military vehicles and tanks with rocket-propelled grenades, especially in the northern area of Gaza City.

The axe of northern Gaza

On the northern axe of Gaza, the Israeli forces retracted back after being stationed in the Al-Maqqousi area in northern Gaza City, and in the northern area of the al-Shati refugee camp, northwest of Gaza City.

Israeli forces returned to the north to station in the Al-Amrikiyah area, northwest of Beit Lahia, meaning the army retreated 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to position in the area it reached on the first day of the ground operation on Oct. 27.

To where Israeli forces are heading?

Based on the Israeli military ground operation, the Israeli army is seeking to advance from the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood toward the northern parts of Gaza.

It appears from the scale of destruction it caused in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood that it is preparing for ground advances from those areas.

The plan resembles the ground operation on Gaza in 2008 – 2009 which lasted 23 days when Israeli forces advanced from eastern Gaza into the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood.

srael will continue its operations in Gaza until it achieves victory, even if that takes a full year, the nation’s defense minister said Saturday.

“We will remain in Gaza until we win, even if it takes a year,” Yoav Galant said in a public address broadcast by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.