Israel has pulled tanks out of some Gaza City districts, residents say, as it announced plans to shift tactics and cut back on troop numbers, but fighting continues to rage elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave along with intense bombardment.
Israel says the war in Gaza, which has reduced much of the territory to rubble, killing thousands and .
But it also signalled a new phase in its offensive, with an official saying on Monday the military would draw down forces inside Gaza this month and shift to a months-long phase of more localised "mopping up" operations.
A United States official said the decision appeared to indicate the start of a shift to lower-intensity operations in the north of the Palestinian enclave.
Fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas has continued in central parts of the Gaza Strip. Source: EPA / Abir Sultan
The Israeli official said the troop reduction would allow some reservists to return to civilian life, shoring up Israel's war-battered economy, and free up units in case of a wider conflict in the north with Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Artillery fire between Hezbollah and Israel has rattled the border since the start of the Gaza conflict, with Israel's military saying it carried out an airstrike on Monday.
Residents and security sources said Israeli raids targeted houses in the Lebanese village of Kafr Kila near the border, killing three people.
They identified them as rescuers but later said on its Telegram account on Monday that the three were fighters with the movement.
The Israeli official said the situation on the Lebanese border "will not be allowed to continue. This coming six-month period is a critical moment".
The Gaza war started following a surprise .
The war between Hamas and Israel is the latest escalation in a long-standing conflict.
Palestinian health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza say Israel's offensive there has killed more than 21,978 people.
Residents of Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City, in the northern part of the enclave that Israel's offensive focused on first, said tanks had withdrawn after what they described as the most intense 10 days of warfare since the conflict began.
"The tanks were very near. We could see them outside the houses. We couldn't get out to fill water," said Nasser, a father of seven living in Sheikh Radwan.
Tanks also pulled out of Gaza City's al-Mina district and parts of Tel al-Hawa district while retaining some positions in the suburb controlling the enclave's main coastal road, residents said.
However, tanks remained in other parts of northern Gaza and health officials said some people trying to return to their homes in a southern district of Gaza City had been killed by Israeli fire on Sunday.
On Monday, Hamas' armed wing claimed to have killed 15 Israeli soldiers after triggering an explosive minefield east of the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City.
Fighting in central parts of the enclave continued unabated, residents there said, with tanks pushing into al-Bureij and airstrikes targeting al-Nusseirat, al-Maghazi and the southern city of Khan Younis.
Strikes killed at least 10 people in al-Maghazi, and seven in a house in Deir al-Balah, health officials said.
Hamas showed its continued ability to target Israel after more than 12 weeks of the war, launching a barrage of rocket fire at Tel Aviv overnight.
Hamas seized 240 hostages on 7 October and during a brief truce, and others killed during airstrikes and rescue or escape attempts.
Avi Dichter, a member of Israel's security cabinet, said on Kan Radio that hostages could only be freed by putting "massive" pressure on Hamas and allied groups.
"Without Hamas' terrorist infrastructure being destroyed and its governance capabilities toppled, the war will not end," he said.
