Israel pulled tanks out of some Gaza City districts, Reuters quotes residents as saying, as it announced plans to shift tactics and cut back on troop numbers, but fighting raged elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave along with intense bombardment.

Israel 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.

The hints at a lowered tempo in Gaza came as the US Navy announced that the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier was returning to its home port in Virginia after being deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean following the outbreak of hostilities.

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.

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.” Any new escalation carries risks for a wider regional war.