A/HRC/12/48 page 88 2. The air-land phase 338. Around 3 January 2009 Israeli ground troops entered Gaza from the north and east. One study suggests that “the war was fought largely by the southern Command using brigade teams that operated with a high degree of independence and freedom to adapt and innovate”.205 339. One of the key initial objectives described by one soldier involved was to divide the Gaza Strip into two parts, i.e. to split and fragment it, with Nitzarim constituting the midpoint.206 The division therefore ran from the Karni crossing point to the coast in a south-westerly direction. After creating the split, the Israeli armed forces concentrated all of their ground forces in the north. Targets in the south were hit from the air, such as in Rafah. 340. At least in the initial phase it appears forces from the Givati Brigade entered from the east and approached Gaza City from the south. It is understood that forces from the Armoured 341. Corps Brigade also operated in this area but probably at a later stage.207 Zeytoun, on the southern outskirts of Gaza, took the brunt of these brigade operations, with incidents of attacks on the civilian population. 342. It appears that those with primary responsibility in the north of Gaza, especially around Beit Lahia and al-Atatra, included forces from the Golani Brigade. 343. The forces focusing on the area between Gaza City and the northern section, especially in Jabaliyah, appear to have been drawn largely from the Paratrooper Brigade. 344. The movement into the south of Gaza City reached at least as far as Zeytoun on 3 January 2009. Some of the troops entering there on that day appear to have been brought in by helicopter rather than arriving by land. Israeli armed forces maintained a presence in Zeytoun until the final withdrawal.208 It is understood that the original forces that entered Zeytoun were at least partially replaced by other troops at some point, but it is not known if any of the original forces remained in the area throughout the period.209 345. In the other brigade areas regular troops were augmented or replaced by reservists who were called up after the initial ground attacks. 205 Ibid., p. 39. Breaking the Silence, Soldiers’ Testimonies from Operation Cast Lead, Gaza 2009, testimony 20, p. 48, available at: http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/oferet/ENGLISH_oferet.pdf. 206 207 Soldiers’ Testimonies …, testimony 2, p. 9. See accounts of the attack on the Sawafeary chicken farm attack in chapter XIII and the taking of the Juha house in Zaytoun in chapter IX. 208 209 Soldiers’ Testimonies …, testimony 2, p. 9.