Tel Aviv/Gaza, 7 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The Israeli army says it has withdrawn its forces from the city of Khan Younis, the biggest in the southern Gaza Strip.

"The IDF's 98th commando division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis. The division left the Gaza Strip in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

A significant number of Israeli troops "continues to operate in the Gaza Strip, and will preserve the IDF's freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence based operations," it said.

It was initially unclear whether the withdrawal from Khan Younis marked a turning point in Israel's strategy in the ongoing Gaza war or a new intermediate stage on the way to a possible operation in the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.

Despite strong international opposition, Israel has been maintaining for weeks that it is planning a large-scale ground incursion into Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are currently sheltering from fighting elsewhere in the sealed-off coastal area.

The army announced on Saturday that it had recovered the body of an Israeli hostage in Khan Younis. The city is considered an important stronghold of Palestinian extremist organization Hamas, which led the unprecedented attacks on Israel on October 7.

Photo: IDF