The IDF is relocating soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade, currently serving at the Syrian border, and soldiers from the Nahal Brigade, currently serving in the West Bank, and redeploying them to north Gaza, the military announced on Sunday.
The paratroopers will join the IDF's 98th Division, and the Nahal Brigade soldiers will join the IDF's 162nd Division as they prepare for expanded operations within the enclave.
The IDF is mobilizing reservist soldiers to the Golan Heights and the Syrian border to replace the paratroopers, the military confirmed.
There was no comment clarifying whether other personnel will be deployed to replace the Nahal Brigade soldiers who have been serving in the West Bank.
The paratroopers had been serving under the IDF's 210th Division, and carried out dozens of raids on Syrian outposts, during which hundreds of weapons were confiscated and destroyed, the military stated.
The Nahal Brigade soldiers had arrested more than 100 wanted individuals, located and confiscated dozens of weapons, and killed "several" terrorists, the military added.
The security cabinet agreed to expand operations in Gaza on May 2.
Israel plans to transfer north Gaza residents to the south of the enclave
Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the IDF's plans to expand their maneuvers in the Gaza Strip include transferring all residents to the south of the enclave, his office confirmed on Wednesday.
The IDF's renewed operation in the Gaza Strip will include military control of the area, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during the security cabinet late last Sunday night.
The plan is also set to include the holding of territory, the movement of Gazans southwards, and denying Hamas's ability to distribute humanitarian aid.
Netanyahu also noted the plan would allow both war goals to be achieved, defeating Hamas and the return of the hostages.
The IDF sent out call-up orders for tens of thousands of reservists starting last Sunday, on the road toward widening the Gaza invasion.
Also, the military said that the expansion would be in stages, signaling that it could take days or weeks before having a clearer picture of the strategy and impact of the IDF’s further invasion.
As part of the widening of the invasion of Gaza, the IDF plans to completely clear the northern part of the enclave, sending its citizens to southern Gaza, where a new humanitarian aid pilot program will begin, a senior security source said on Monday.
Yonah Jeremy Bob and Amichai Stein contributed to this report.