U.S. Homeland Security Spokesperson John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, the United States, March 25, 2024.
Elisabetta Frantz | Reuters
Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said Sunday that Israel’s decision to withdraw some troops from southern Gaza did not appear to indicate a change in military strategy.
“As we understand it, and through their public announcements, this is really just rest and recommissioning for these troops who have been in the field for four months, and not necessarily – as far as we can tell – indicative of some new operation coming soon,” Kirby said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” “The word we’re getting is they’re tired, they need to be renovated.”
THE Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday that it had “concluded its mission” in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis and would reduce its military troops in that region “in order to recover and prepare for future operations.”
The move comes six months after the October 7 attack by Hamas. The Biden administration has toughened its rhetoric against Israel’s military conduct, triggered by an Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen charity.
President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Thursday that the strikes and the humanitarian circumstances of the war are “unacceptable,” according to a White House briefing. He also stressed that the future of US policy will be determined by Israel’s “immediate” action to address civilian harm and humanitarian suffering.
“We have been increasingly frustrated,” Kirby said Sunday.
However, he added in a separate interview that after the IDF forces that left Khan Younis finished their “rest and readjustment,” the White House did not know what the next military step would be.
Some national security experts see this as a possible turning point in the war, although the direction of that turning point remains unclear.
“I think this is a turning point in the Gaza campaign,” Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at the security consultancy Le Beck International, told NBC News.
He said the troops would not currently replace forces departing Khan Younis, perhaps signaling a more targeted military approach, which the United States has been calling for for months. He added that replacing those troops could mean “Israel launches a new offensive, against Rafah, for example.”
“What they’re going to do with those troops after rest and restructuring, I can’t say,” Kirby said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “All I can do is say what I said before: We do not support a major ground operation in Rafah. That has not changed.”