The Israeli army said on Thursday that it has “dismantled” the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) brigade operating in the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, after having eliminated some 2,000 “terrorists” during three months of operations.
“The forces of the 162nd Division have been operating in the Rafah area for approximately three months. So far, the division’s forces have eliminated more than 2,000 terrorists and destroyed some thirteen kilometers of underground tunnels. The division’s forces have dismantled the Hamas brigade in Rafah,” reads a statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published on its website.
In addition, they have highlighted the elimination of more than 250 militants during a series of battles that have taken place during the last few weeks in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, including the commander of the battalion with the same name, whom they have identified as Mahmud Hamdan, as well as most of the battalion’s chain of command.
They have also reported the destruction of 80 percent of the tunnels located both under the Philadelphia corridor and in its vicinity. IDF engineers continue “locating and destroying underground routes and terrorist infrastructure in the area.”
This report comes almost a month after the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, assured that the Hamas brigade in Rafah could already be considered eliminated. The Israeli forces launched the offensive on Rafah in early May despite the insistence of the international community to try to prevent an assault against one of the areas most saturated with civilians since the beginning of the military offensive in October.
