Israel has announced a major shift in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) will be withdrawing a substantial number of troops from the region as the fight against the terrorist group continues.

Reports vary on the reason for the decrease of troops in the region. From NBC News:

Israel says five of its military brigades, including many reservists, will be withdrawing from the Gaza Strip this week in an effort to pace itself for an expected long-term conflict and to mitigate damage to Israel’s economy.

The Israel Defense Forces said the 828th Brigade, 261st Brigade and 460th Brigade, composed of active duty troops, will all return to their normal training missions. The 551st Brigade and 14th Brigade, comprising reservists, will be allowed to go home and resume their normal jobs, the IDF said.  

Yet the military took pains to signal that the withdrawal of those brigades did not mean an end to active, intensive combat in Gaza or any reduction in Israel’s mission there. Israel has been under intense global pressure to scale back the war but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a national address over the weekend that the war would continue for “many more months.”

“The goals of the war require prolonged fighting and we are preparing accordingly,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters.

The report also describes how the deployment of troops has affected Israel’s economy.

Shortly after the war started, Israel called some 300,000 reservists into service, many of whom are now fighting in Gaza. That move has had serious implications for Israel’s economy, with many businesses forced to shut down or reduce operations after losing much of their workforce.

The Associated Press indicated that the move was prompted by the Biden administration pressuring Israel to de-escalate its military offensive in Gaza.

The troop movement could signal that fighting is being scaled back in some areas of Gaza, particularly in the northern half where the military has said it is close to assuming operational control. Israel has been under pressure from its chief ally, the United States, to begin to switch to lower-intensity fighting.

Word of the drawdown came ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region and after the Biden administration bypassed Congress for the second time this month to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel.

A former Israeli military officer also indicated that pressure from the White House could be motivating the drawdown in troops.

Shlomo Brom, a retired brigadier general once in charge of strategic planning in the Israeli military, said the troop changes may be a result of the U.S. pressure. He said it indicated a shift in how Israel was conducting the war in some areas.

“The war is not stopping,” said Brom. “It is the beginning of a different mode of operation.”

It would make sense that the incursion into Gaza would have a negative impact on Israel’s economy with the amount of personnel that was dedicated to the counterattack against Hamas. Since the IDF has already caused severe damage to the terrorist group’s operations in the area, it would be appropriate for Israel to address the impact on its economy.

However, the White House has been placing pressure on the Israeli government to do more to lessen the number of civilian casualties. Unlike the global anti-Israel movement, the Biden administration has not called for a ceasefire, but it has been trying to convince the Jewish state to change its tactics.

Of course, both factors could be playing into this move on Israel’s part. But it is clear that the war is still far from over. This development simply indicates a shift in the IDF’s strategy, not a lessening of its resolve.