Israel withdraws most troops from Gaza; Hamas, Israel to engage in talks

The Israeli military said Sunday it has withdrawn most ground troops from the Gaza Strip after completing a withering offensive in the southern city of Khan Younis, leaving just one brigade in the battered enclave six months after the war began.

The military has been reducing numbers in Gaza since the start of the year under growing global pressure to ease the impact of the war on civilians. The drawdown also has provided relief for reservists, many of whom have been away from their homes and jobs since Israel's offensive was launched within hours of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led assault on Israel. And it comes as global outrage intensifies over the tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza from the Israel military campaign to rout out Hamas.

The remaining Nahal Brigade includes a few thousand soldiers tasked with preventing Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza and conducting "precision" strikes across the territory, the military said. It was not clear what impact, if any, the withdrawal would have on the long-threatened incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC News the withdrawal was "about rest and refit for these troops ... and not necessarily that we can tell indicative of some coming new operation."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the planned assault on Rafah is needed to eliminate Hamas. President Joe Biden and most of the world have urged Israel to jettison the plan, saying it would threaten the lives of too many of the more than 1 million Palestinian civilians who have fled to Rafah from fighting elsewhere in Gaza.

Israel's offensive, launched after the shocking attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, initially focused on northern Gaza, which has been left in ruins. In recent weeks the focus has been on southern Gaza, with similar results.

More than 250 hostages were seized and almost 1,200 people killed during the Oct. 7 attack, Israel says. More than 33,100 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Developments:

∎ Egypt said it is preparing to host a new round of talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire and hostage-release deal, which both Israel and Hamas said they would attend. Hamas leaders issued a statement saying they met with an Egyptian official in Cairo on Sunday and reiterated their position that no hostages will be freed until Israel agrees to a permanent cease-fire and removes all its troops from Gaza, the Times of Israel reported.

∎ Pope Francis will meet Monday with families of some of the hostages, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

∎ Netanyahu, at the start of his weekly Cabinet meeting, said any deal must include the release of what Israel believes are 133 hostages still being held in Gaza, and he said Hamas' "extreme demands" were the obstacle.

Gaza war tests interfaith bonds in US: Some find ways to mend relationships

Cindy McCain: 'Children are dying as we speak'

Cindy McCain, director of the World Food Program, warned in a new interview that “children are dying as we speak” in Gaza and called for greater access for aid workers while the war rages on.

CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday asked McCain whether Israel approving the opening of an area known as the Erez crossing would help get food and other critical resources to Palestinians in Gaza. McCain called the move “very important,” but she still warned that humanitarian workers must be able to bring resources to the area.

“Children are dying as we speak, and those that are not dying or haven’t died yet are so emaciated and lacking so much in the way of important nutrients at this particular time in their life cycles,” McCain said.

– Marina Pitofsky 

Former hostage buried; sister rips Israeli government

Thousands of Israelis gathered Sunday for the funeral of Elad Katzir, one of the hostages seized by militants Oct. 7. The Israeli military said Katzir was murdered in captivity and that its commandos "rescued" his body from Gaza on Saturday. His mother, Hana, was also kidnapped but was released on Nov. 24 as part of a cease-fire deal. His father, Avraham, was murdered in their kibbutz. Katzir’s sister, Carmit Palty Katzir, blasted the Israeli government in a Facebook post.

"He could have been saved if a deal would have happened on time," she wrote. "Our leadership is cowardly and devoid of political considerations and therefore it didn't happen."

British government warns Israel that support is 'not unconditional'

The British government's firm support for Israel showed further signs of wavering Sunday as Foreign Minister David Cameron warned that support "is not unconditional" and depends on Israel abiding by international humanitarian law. Cameron wrote in London's The Sunday Times, days after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers, including three Britons, that mass starvation was a serious risk unless Israel allows more aid into the beleaguered territory.

"Our backing is not unconditional," Cameron wrote. "We expect such a proud and successful democracy to abide by international humanitarian law, even when challenged."

Andrés dismisses Israeli explanation for deadly attack on aid team

Chef and philanthropist José Andrés says Israeli attacks in Gaza that have killed civilians – including seven volunteers in his World Central Kitchen aid convoy – amount to an ongoing "crime against humanity" that has been allowed to continue for too long. The aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike last week as their convoy was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse. They had previously coordinated movements with the Israeli military, and they were traveling in armored cars bearing the World Central Kitchen logo.

"This doesn't seem anymore a war about defending Israel," Andrés said through tears in an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "This really, at this point, seems (like) a war against humanity itself."

Israel called the attack a "grave mistake," saying the Israel Defense Forces misidentified a World Central Kitchen worker as a Hamas gunman. The Israeli military fired two officers for their role in the attack.

Andrés dismissed Israel's explanation in his interview, telling ABC News: "Every time something happens, we cannot just be bringing Hamas into the equation."

− David Jackson

Some US Jewish and Muslim leaders try to bridge divide

The war’s brutality and seven decades of acrimony between Israel and Palestinians have exacerbated tensions among communities in the United States. And that’s why Shariq Ghani, a Muslim interfaith leader, and Steven Gross, a Reform Jewish rabbi, were among several dozen imams, pastors, rabbis, ministers and others gathered at Ghani’s house in suburban Houston last week at a Ramadan iftar dinner for friends and family.

Trust remains an issue. In Houston, the Minaret Foundation, an interfaith social justice organization led by Ghani, and the Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism scrapped their annual Muslim-Jewish Christmas potluck. The Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations withdrew its support of the city’s annual Ramadan dinner because Mayor John Whitmire, the event’s keynote speaker, had not called for a cease-fire in Gaza. Still, Ghani and Gross are hopeful.

“We can overcome our differences,” Ghani said. “And people have to know that.”

− Marc Ramirez

Pregnant women in Gaza face starvation: No anesthesia after 6 months of war

Pregnant women face unrelenting hardships in Gaza

The U.N. estimates that about 50,000 pregnant women are living in Gaza, and there are more than 180 births every day. Islamic Relief Worldwide, an aid group, has characterized the catalog of difficulties and indignities pregnant women in Gaza are facing as "like a hundred years ago."

In addition to the stress of constant bombardment, they are enduring cesarean sections without pain relief. They have no access to scans or checkups, no safe way to travel to hospitals or medical centers, most of which are no longer functional. Many are being forced to give birth on the floors of hospitals, in tents, in public restrooms.

"They live in absolutely horrible conditions," said Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian doctor and politician based in Ramallah in the West Bank. "They are very cold. If it's raining, there is no protection. ... Most, if not all, of them don't have access to enough vitamins essential for their babies' health."

− Kim Hjelmgaard

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: War updates: Israel removes most troops from Gaza, to talk with Hamas