{"id":2214917,"date":"2024-04-07T13:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T17:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/idf-pulls-ground-troops-from-southern-gaza-stresses-war-is-not-over-until-hostages-are-free\/"},"modified":"2024-04-07T13:43:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-07T17:43:02","slug":"idf-pulls-ground-troops-from-southern-gaza-stresses-war-is-not-over-until-hostages-are-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/idf-pulls-ground-troops-from-southern-gaza-stresses-war-is-not-over-until-hostages-are-free\/","title":{"rendered":"IDF withdraws troops from southern Gaza but emphasizes that the war continues until hostages are released"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fidf-pulls-ground-troops-from-southern-gaza-stresses-war-is-not-over-until-hostages-are-free%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2214917&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have stated that the \u200cconflict with Hamas is ongoing despite \u2062withdrawing ground troops from southern Gaza. IDF spokesperson \u2064Lt. Col. Peter Lerner \u200bconfirmed completing a mission in Khan Younis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-conservatives-wonder-who-navy-is-trying-to-recruit-with-petty-officer-drag-queen-stunt\/\" title=\"Conservatives question Navy's intentions with Petty Officer Drag Queen 'stunt'.\">focusing efforts<\/a> on Rafah. The IDF emphasizes\u200b the war&#8217;s continuation until\u200b hostages are freed. This phase follows months of fighting after Hamas attacked Israel, resulting in hostages \u2062held.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<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>\n<p>Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesperson for the IDF, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/live\/world-68744024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ag-barr-destroys-his-name-for-all-eternity-his-actions-today-confirm-he-is-just-another-card-carrying-swamp-rat\/\" title=\"AG Barr Destroys His Name for All Eternity - His Actions Today Confirm He Is Just Another Card-Carrying Swamp Rat\">reportedly told<\/a> 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bolduc-within-striking-distance-of-hassan-inside-latest-polling\/\" title=\"Bolduc Within Striking Distance Of Hassan Inside Latest Polling\">campaign remains<\/a> on the southern city of Rafah.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt 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\u2019 capabilities wherever they are,\u201d Lerner said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is another stage in the war effort\u201d in which the IDF\u2019s campaign is \u201ccontinuously evolving,\u201d he continued, adding, \u201cThe war is not over. War can only be over when they [hostages] come home and when Hamas is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<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>\n<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 \u201cmaneuvering ground forces\u201d 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>\n<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\u2019s border with Israel and noted that a colleague informed her that people can \u201cmove freely\u201d from southern Gaza up to central Gaza for the first time in three months.<\/p>\n<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 \u201creally just about rest and refit for these troops\u201d after four months of fighting and \u201cnot necessarily \u2026 indicative of some coming new operation for these troops.\u201d<\/p>\n<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\u2019s 2.3 million population had gathered during the conflict, to root out a Hamas stronghold and free hostages who may be held there.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"sk-tooltip-9096\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1700760801843000&#038;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG\">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<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>\n<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>\n<p>\u201cCitizens of Israel, there is no war more just than this one, and we are determined to achieve total victory,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/netanyahu-after-withdrawal-we-will-destroy-hamas-including-in-rafah\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Netanyahu said<\/a>, adding, \u201cI have made it clear to the international community: There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages. It simply will not happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Sunday, the IDF reaffirmed the ongoing battle with Hamas after pulling ground troops from southern Gaza. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, IDF spokesperson, confirmed to the BBC that the mission in Khan Younis was accomplished, signaling a strategic phase, but stressed the war&#8217;s continuation until hostages are freed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1588,"featured_media":2214918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2126119185-scaled-e1712506195816.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2214917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2126119185-scaled-e1712506195816.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2214917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2214918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2214917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2214917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2214917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}