With its offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israel claims to have dismantled the military structure of the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas in the north of the coastal region. During the operations, the military also came into possession of important intelligence-relevant information. Meanwhile, chief Western diplomats continue to work with countries in the region to de-escalate the conflict. A deal over the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip could become more difficult from the perspective of the mediating Gulf emirate of Qatar following the killing of a key Hamas leader in Lebanon, according to a report.
Commanders killed, tunnel demolished
On Sunday night, Israel's army published videos on X (formerly Twitter) about the operation in the north of the Gaza Strip. Spokesman Daniel Hagari said Hamas had two brigades with 12 regiments in the north before the war began. “In total there were about 14,000 terrorists,” he said. Since then, numerous commanders have been killed and weapons and ammunition destroyed. The soldiers found underground tunnels and demolished them.
According to Hagari, eight kilometers of underground tunnels and 40 entrances were found in the refugee district of Jabalia alone. Hamas no longer functions in an organized manner in this area. “There are still terrorists in Jabalia, but now they are acting without a framework and without commanders.” But he expects sporadic rocket attacks on Israel from this area to continue. The army says it now wants to concentrate on destroying Hamas structures in the center and south of the Gaza Strip. According to Israel, around 8,000 terrorists have been killed so far.
The Gaza war was triggered by the devastating terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups on October 7th. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, 22,600 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since then. In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal area and the high number of civilian casualties, Israel has recently come under increasing international criticism.
Possible photo of Hamas phantom
In the course of the offensive, Israel also appears to have gained new information about a Hamas leadership member who has gone into hiding. The army released a photo purporting to show the head of Hamas' armed wing, Mohammed Deif. It shows a gray-haired, bearded man holding several banknotes in his left hand and a plastic cup with a liquid in his right hand. Until the war began, Israel only had very old photos of the man considered one of the central masterminds of the terrorist attack. A newer picture of Deif surfaced in December. For years he was considered a phantom and had survived numerous attempts to kill him by Israel.
Israel had long assumed that Deif had lost several limbs. But in December, Israeli media reported that the army had found a video showing Deif with both arms and both legs. “Together with (domestic intelligence agency) Shin Bet, we interrogated terrorist operatives,” Hagari said. “The result was that we obtained information about senior Hamas leaders, including documentation from Mohammed Deif and also information about Hamas leaders who are outside the Gaza Strip.”
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