The division will return to Israel for rest and training before any decision is made as to whether it will be redeployed. The other three divisions will remain in Gaza.
Israel has announced it is wrapping up its intense phase of the fighting in the blockaded territory and will shift to a lower intensity phase in the war.
The 36th division had been deployed to northern Gaza, the area hit hardest by Israel’s military campaign in the first few months of the conflict.
Israel has launched a deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, killing at least 24,100 people and injuring 60,800 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.
The offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
