IANS | 24 Apr, 2024
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have mobilised two additional reserve
brigades ahead of a possible deployment to the city of Rafah in the
southern Gaza Strip.
The brigades had previously been deployed on
Israel's border with Lebanon. In recent weeks, however, they have been
training for operations in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said on Wednesday.
"The
soldiers practiced combat techniques and learned the main insights and
lessons from the fighting and ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip so far,"
the IDF said in a statement.
At the beginning of the Gaza war
more than six and a half months ago, Israel mobilised around 300,000
reservists. However, most of them have since been released.
Most
recently, active troops have been deployed mainly in the Gaza Strip.
Israel does not publicise its troop numbers, but a brigade usually
consists of several thousand soldiers.
A Rafah ground offensive is
highly controversial, as Israel's allies, including the US, its
strongest supporter, have warned against this because hundreds of
thousands of Palestinian refugees are in the southern city and its
surroundings.
The town near the Egyptian border is considered to
be the only one in the sealed-off coastal strip that is still relatively
intact. Israel is planning to evacuate Rafah and wants to relocate the
civilian population to safer areas such as the al-Mawasi camp.