There are too many possibilities. They might be pulling back to respond to a future Iranian attack.
30,000 troops were in south Gaza, Now they are virtually all gone while there are still many Hamas battalions in Gaza and ~130 hostages. There has to be sound reason(s). The Israeli right wing might consider this some kind of defeat.
Possibilities:
- It's the end of the beginning; the bombing and invasion resume shortly. This war is nowhere near the end.
- It's the beginning of the end; Israel is battening the hatches for rapid escalation regionally.
- Too many civilians are currently in Rafah and need to be moved elsewhere for the bombing to resume there.
- Tomorrow is the end of Ramadan and Israel is expecting a massive attack somewhere.
- Sensitive negotiations in Qatar require give on the Israeli side.
- US pressure has gotten through to Netanyahu.
- Domestic political and legal pressure has gotten through to Netanyahu.
- Killing is hard work; the troops urgently need rest.
- The troops are urgently needed on the Lebanon border.
- A ceasefire in Gaza would halt Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
- The current tenuous "ceasefire" between Iran-backed militia and US troops in Syria and Iraq may be jeopardized without a ceasefire in Gaza.
- Longshot: the U.N. resolution that passed last week de-linked the hostage release from a ceasefire and treated both as independent imperatives. This would be more effective in saving the lives of civilians in Gaza, saving the lives of U.S. troops by avoiding regional escalation, and saving the lives of the Israeli hostages.