This photo released by the Israel Defense Forces shows Israeli troops conducting a military operation in Gaza Strip, January 1, 2024. /Xinhua
Unrelenting Israeli bombardment rocked Gaza on Monday, while Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement the army was preparing for "prolonged fighting" ahead "throughout this year," AFP reported.
Israel is removing some forces from Gaza in order to conduct more focused operations against Hamas, and is partially returning reservists to civilian life to help the economy, according to Reuters, citing an Israeli official.
Witnesses in northern Gaza said they saw Israeli forces leaving several areas in and around Gaza City, likely suggesting redeployment rather than permanent withdrawal, according to AFP.
Hagari said the Israeli army was "adapting the planning of the force deployment in Gaza" including reserve soldiers, as "the fighting will continue and they will still be required."
Palestinian families live in makeshift tents set up on empty fields at refuge in southern city of Rafah after being forced to leave their homes due to Israeli attacks, Gaza, January 1, 2024. /CFP
Heavy artillery fire and air strikes were reported across the length of the territory on Monday, with the the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza saying the Israeli army killed 156 Palestinians and wounded 246 others in the Gaza Strip during the previous 24 hours.
The death toll of Palestinians has risen to 21,978 since the outbreak of the conflict on October 7, according to the ministry.
The ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qedra said that Israeli attacks had killed 326 medical workers and forced 30 of the 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip out of service.
Smoke billows during an Israeli bombardment on the outskirts of the border town of Marwahin in southern Lebanon, December 31, 2023. /CFP
Regional conflict
The conflict in Gaza has also raised fears of a broader regional conflict, with hostilities flaring with nearby countries and militant groups.
At least three Hezbollah fighters were killed on Monday in confrontations with Israeli forces on the border area in southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources said.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the casualties resulted from Israel firing eight air-to-surface missiles in the southeastern village of Kafr Kila.
In addition, the Israeli army launched air strikes and heavy artillery targeting several villages and towns in southern Lebanon, destroying eight houses, and damaging dozens of others, the sources noted.
The Iranian Navy's Alborz destroyer entered the Red Sea on Monday after passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait amid rising tensions in the region, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The Alborz destroyer was part of the Iranian Navy's 94th flotilla of warships, said the report, adding that the Iranian Navy's flotillas have been conducting missions on the high seas since 2009 to ensure shipping security and fight piracy.
The development came as the U.S. Central Command said its naval forces responded to a distress call from a merchant boat in the Red Sea that reported being under a Houthi attack, before sinking three Houthi boats and killing all their crews.
(With input from agencies)