TEL AVIV, Israel — As Israel begins to wind down its air-and-ground assault in northern Gaza after weeks of fighting there, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is rejecting suggestions that the pullout of some troops is part of a wider plan to end the military campaign to eliminate Hamas.
Earlier this week, Israel said it was withdrawing two brigades from Gaza, with three more brigades to be pulled out at a future date. That likely amounts to several thousand soldiers, although Israel has not disclosed how many total troops it has deployed to the Palestinian territory.
