For most of the war, the IDF said that most of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas were in Khan Yunis.
By YONAH JEREMY BOB
FEBRUARY 21, 2024 20:01
Updated: FEBRUARY 21, 2024 20:16
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, February 21, 2024
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
With the IDF completing its operational takeover of Khan Yunis, sources have confirmed that the IDF found no hostages there, though it did find multiple multi-million shekel special tunnels with cages where hostages had been held.
For most of the war, the IDF said that most of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas were in Khan Yunis.
Even when the IDF invaded Khan Yunis and was making significant progress in late December and late January, sources said there was still hope that the IDF would locate hostages there.
There was especially high suspicion that hostages might still be held in Khan Yunis in the vast tunnel network, regarding which the IDF still had only penetrated part of.Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, February 21, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
Hamas moves hostages to Rafah
However, once the IDF penetrated into the western and southern sectors, and its forces started to be able to move more freely and quickly explore the remaining tunnels, it became clear that Hamas had moved the hostages elsewhere.
Likewise, all of the cages where hostages had been held were empty, though with signs that they had been occupied until recently.
As early as December, top sources started to argue that Hamas was already moving some hostages from Khan Yunis to Rafah.
Also, top sources had said a small number of hostages remained in a small part of central Gaza, which the IDF has intentionally avoided invading so as to avoid a premature conflagration that could lead to the hostages’ deaths.
It seems that since December, more, or even all, of the remaining hostages in Khan Yunis were moved to Rafah, hiding among around 1.5 million Palestinian civilians.
Though it is also possible that the hostages are being hidden in other less well-known villages, no security sources have suggested such a theory to date.
Also, the IDF announced, on Wednesday morning, the death of St.-Sgt. Abraham Wovagen, who fell in northern Gaza.
Wovagen was 21 years old, from Netanya, and was a soldier in the 932nd battalion of the Nahal Brigade.
IDF operates in southern Lebanon
Meanwhile, in the North, there were 11 rocket or drone sirens on Wednesday, with Hezbollah claiming it had initiated 12 attacks on Israel. In one of the attacks, a house in Metula was hit by an anti-tank missile, though given the broad evacuations, no injuries were reported.
The IDF attacked three of Hezbollah’s operational command centers on Wednesday.
Israeli forces also attacked a military building containing terrorists from the organization in the village of Yaroun. The IDF identified a number of terrorists entering the military structure the day before.
Hamas has not fired any rockets since Monday morning but did fire a small number of rockets on most days for several days from last week to this past weekend.
Also, the IDF said on Wednesday that over the course of the war, engineering forces of the Alexandroni Brigade had cleared close to 30 kilometers of obstacles near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, granting it significantly more freedom of action on the northern front.
The Alexandroni Brigade, deployed from Metula to Rosh Hanikra, is leading the defense on the border against Hezbollah, the IDF noted.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
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