Israel has explained why it is withdrawing troops from southern Gaza

 Israel is withdrawing its troops from southern Gaza for rest and rearming.

As Ukrinform reports, John Kirby, the coordinator of the National Security Council of the White House for strategic communications, said this in an interview with CBS News on Sunday.

According to him, Israel made it clear to Washington that the sudden move to withdraw troops from the southern part of Gaza was aimed at exactly that.

Kirby called the move a development of the war, not a withdrawal to end it. At the same time, the idea behind this step is not fully understood.

"The data we got from them this morning is that it's really basically a rest and rearm for the troops that have been in place for four months straight..." Kirby said. "What they will do with these troops after rest and rearming, I cannot say."

At the same time, the IDF did not provide information on whether this would delay the assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israeli leaders say is necessary to eliminate the Hamas group.

The White House has been pressuring Israel in recent weeks to refrain from a military operation in Rafah until the civilian population is adequately protected.