Israeli forces have withdrawn one of their major military divisions from the Gaza Strip amid ongoing operations and military presence in several areas and axes in the north and south.
The Israeli army stated that the 252nd Reserve Division has completed its mission in central Gaza after several months of fighting in the region, without providing further details.
Several divisions and brigades from the Israeli army are still operating in Gaza, especially along the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt, and the Netzarim axis, which separates Gaza City from the central provinces, as well as in Jabalia Camp and the surrounding areas in the north of the Strip.
The 252nd Reserve Division
The 252nd Division is an armored division and has been under the Southern Regional Command since it was formed in the 1960s. It is currently led by Brigadier Moran Omer of the Israeli army.
The division was established in 1968 in an effort to unify the Israeli armored forces in the Sinai Peninsula during its occupation, where it participated in the War of Attrition.
The division also took part in the October War in 1973 and later played an active role in the 1982 Lebanon War, where it operated on the eastern flank of the Israeli forces that penetrated Lebanon. Recently, the division was tasked with securing the border with Egypt.
The 252nd Division participated in the aggression on the Gaza Strip after October 7th last year, focusing its operations in central Gaza and later in the north along with four reserve infantry brigades (reserves from the Givati, Paratroopers, and Armored corps).
The division’s operations were concentrated in the city of Beit Hanoun in the far northeast of the Gaza Strip, under the pretext of searching for tunnels and resistance infrastructure and military installations, and eliminating pockets of resistance there, claiming to have killed hundreds.
