The Israel Defense Forces’ Paratroopers Brigade is being redeployed from Syrian territory ahead of the expansion of the ground campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the military announced on Sunday.
The paratroopers, who served in the Golan Heights and later also across the border in Syria for approximately five months, “completed their mission on the northern border,” the army said.
The Paratroopers Brigade is scheduled to be replaced in the coming days by reservists, who will continue to protect the Jewish state’s northern border through military operations in southern Syria.
Over the past months, the paratroopers, led by the 210th “Bashan” Division, carried out “dozens of raids on Syrian outposts, confiscating and destroying hundreds of weapons,” the military’s statement noted.
The paratroopers leaving Syria are set to join the fight against Hamas as part of 98th Paratroopers Division, aka the Fire Formation.
The 98th Division, with its special forces, previously took the lead to defeat enemy strongholds such as Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, during the current war.
The paratroopers will be joined by forces of the Nahal Infantry Brigade, which had been operating against terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria for three months, the IDF said in a separate announcement.
The Nahal Brigade troops will fight in the Strip as part of the 162nd “Steel Formation” Division, the army said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Hamas on Thursday, declaring that the “rules are about to change” as Israel prepares to expand its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The prime minister reiterated the IDF’s key objectives: “First—to defeat Hamas, to be victorious over Hamas, to eliminate Hamas. The second, of course, simultaneously—is to release our hostages.”
Fifty-nine abductees remain captive in Gaza, according to official Israel Defense Forces figures. It is believed that up to 24 of them are still alive, with heavy question marks over one Israeli and two foreign nationals.