The Chief of Staff of the Israeli military, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, has decided to transfer the 36th Armored Division from the Gaza Strip to the border with Lebanon, where the Israeli army exchanges fire with the Lebanese Hezbollah.
According to the Israeli Army Radio, recent discussions within the General Staff included a request from Southern Command chief, Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick, to keep the 36th Division, the largest regular unit in the Israeli army, in central Gaza to increase military pressure on the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas.
However, the Head of Operations Division, Brig. Gen. Oded Basyuk, argued for the necessity to withdraw the division from Gaza and move it to the north, replacing reserve forces to be prepared for any scenario, as reported by the radio.
Ultimately, the Chief of Staff decided to relocate the 36th Division from Gaza to the Lebanese border.
According to Anadolu Agency, the division consists of maneuver units (armor, infantry, and engineering), including the 188th Brigade, the Golani Brigade, the Givati Brigade, the Tzabar Brigade, and the Combat Engineering Corps.
Since late December, the Israeli army has withdrawn the 4th and 55th Reserve Brigades, the 7107th Combat Engineering Battalion, and the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade from Gaza.
The move by the Chief of Staff coincides with ongoing mutual shelling between Hezbollah and Israel. The party announced targeting “surveillance equipment” at the Rweisat Al-Alam site in the hills of Kfar Chouba and the occupied Shebaa Farms in Lebanon, confirming a direct hit.
In response, the Lebanese National News Agency reported Israeli forces shelled several towns in the western and central sectors. The shelling targeted the vicinity of the towns of Kounin and Rashaf in the central sector, and the towns of Naqura, Tayr Harfa, Dahiyeh, Marwahin, and Ayta Ash Shab in the western sector.
The Israeli occupation army has been escalating its aerial and artillery attacks on towns and villages in southern Lebanon since the start of its aggression on Gaza three months ago. The attacks have resulted in civilian casualties, leading hundreds of families to flee their homes.
