The Israeli army is withdrawing all but one brigade from southern Gaza as Egypt prepares to host a new round of talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire and a hostage release deal.

Israel has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip except one brigade, a military spokesman said on Sunday as delegations prepare to meet in Egypt to discuss possible ceasefire terms.

The military did not immediately provide further details.

It was unclear whether the withdrawal would delay a long-threatened incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israeli leaders have said is necessary to eliminate Hamas.

The announcement coincides with the sixth anniversary of the brutal Hamas incursion into Israel on October 7, killing some 1,170 people and taking 254 hostages according to Israeli figures.

The attack triggered a devastating Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, which is estimated to have killed at least 33,175 people and injured 75,886 since October.

With no significant recovery of the hostages since November, protests have grown within Israel calling for a ceasefire deal that would see them exchanged, while Israel’s leadership comes under pressure from its allies to seek peace terms amid fears of famine in the Palestinian enclave.