Israel Defense Forces troops from the 2nd “Carmeli” Reserve Infantry Brigade are cycling out of the Gaza Strip following months of operations along the Yellow Line, during which they eliminated dozens of terrorists, the military said on Wednesday.
During their operations, the troops also located and dismantled Hamas weapons, including explosive devices, mortars, shells, mines, rocket launchers and rockets intended for launch at Israel.
The troops also destroyed hundreds of terrorist infrastructure sites, including several tunnel shafts used by operatives for prolonged stays and attacks against IDF troops in the area.
The brigade’s troops have completed their mission, concluding their sixth operational rotation, and will be replaced by soldiers from the 16th “Jerusalem” Reserve Infantry Brigade.
“IDF troops under the Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the military said.
On Monday, IDF soldiers found weapons and Hamas surveillance equipment during raids along the ceasefire line in Gaza’s eastern Rafah area.
According to the IDF, the Golani Infantry Brigade seized weapons, including AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, as well as cameras used by Hamas to monitor Israeli military activity in the southern Strip. The soldiers also dismantled several terrorist infrastructure sites and eliminated dozens of terrorists who were operating in tunnels and posed an immediate danger to them.
On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers operating in southern Gaza killed a terrorist who had crossed the Yellow Line and approached them “while carrying a suspicious object, posing an immediate threat to the troops,” the IDF said.
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that his International Stabilization Force for Gaza was already running and that more countries would be added, despite Jerusalem’s opposition to moving to Phase 2 before the return of the remains of the last hostage.
“I think that, in a form, it’s already running,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “More and more countries are coming into it. They’re already in but they’ll send any number of troops that I ask them to send.”
On Dec. 7, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that the Gaza ceasefire line known as the Yellow Line, demarcating the Israeli military withdrawal, is “a new border line.”
“We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip, and we will remain on those defense lines,” Zamir said during a tour of Gaza. “The Yellow Line is a new border line—serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”
Israel controls about 53% of Gaza under the first phase of Trump’s ceasefire plan.
