IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari seen during a visit of IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in the Northern Command, November 28, 2023. Photo by David Cohen/Flash90
Saturday evening, the IDF announced that Hamas’ “military framework” in the northern Gaza Strip has been dismantled.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces had dismantled Hamas’ military framework in northern Gaza Strip and killed around 8,000 Hamas fighters since the start of the war.
“We have completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military framework in the northern Gaza Strip and will continue to deepen the achievement, strengthening the barrier and the defense components along the security fence,” Hagari stated. “Now, we are focusing on dismantling Hamas in the central and southern Gaza Strip. We will do this differently, thoroughly, based on the lessons we have learned from the fighting so far.”
According to Hagari, in the Jabaliya neighborhood alone, the IDF discovered over 8 km of tunnels with over 40 tunnel shafts. Inside the tunnel system were military headquarters, bases, weapons storage sites, and other infrastructure, often under civilian sites like hospitals.
Despite announcements of transitioning to a new phase, Hagari said that fighting will continue in 2024, focusing on the central and southern Gaza Strip.
“Fighting will continue during 2024. We are operating according to a plan to achieve the war’s goals, to dismantle Hamas in the north and south,” Hagari stated.
Hagari also said that destroying Hamas’ military framework does not mean the elimination of all Hamas terrorists.
“There are still terrorists in Jabaliya,” he clarified. “However, they now operate without a framework and without commanders. We have encountered and will continue to encounter sporadic rocket fire from this area.”
The IDF also recovered valuable intelligence during raids on Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip, including computers, maps, communication devices, and hard drives. According to Hagari, around 70 million intelligence files were recovered from the computers, which are being analyzed by security services.
On one of the computers, the analysts discovered a recent photo of Hamas’ military commander Mohammed Deif. Israel has attempted several times to kill Deif over the years, failing each attempt.
Muhammed Deif, the commander of the Hamas’s military wing (Photo: IDF)
Deif was injured in one of the previous attempts and is believed to use a wheelchair to move around, although recent intelligence suggests he can walk for short periods with only a limp. Several wheelchairs have been discovered in the underground tunnels, at least some of which are believed to have been used by Deif.
According to Hagari, many Hamas terrorists in Jabaliya surrendered to the IDF and are being interrogated for intelligence purposes.
The IDF also announced the killing of the commander and deputy commander of Hamas’ Nuseirat Battalion in an airstrike.
Ismail Siraj, Commander of Hamas’ Nuseirat Battalion, and Ahmed Wehbe, his Deputy Commander, were killed in an airstrike based on information from the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet security agency.
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