Israel has been making great strides in Northern Gaza against Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had termed it the beginning of the end for Hamas approximately two weeks ago.
This from redstate.com.
Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said on Friday:
[T]he IDF had achieved nearly full operational control of northern Gaza.
Some evidence of that was how they wiped out the Hamas tunnel/command network that was under the Palestine Square area. They even planted an Israeli flag right in the middle of the square.
They’ve also been successful at taking out important people in the terror network.
On Friday, they blew up the Hamas operative who supplied the group with weapons, Hassan Atrash, in southern Gaza in Rafah, according to IDF officials.
According to the Israelis:
He was also involved in smuggling weapons into Gaza and the West Bank.
Yesterday's assassination in Rafah: The IDF and the Shin Bet executed with a fighter jet Hassan Atrash, who is responsible for the trade, production and equipping of the military arm of Hamas.
In addition, he took part in the smuggling of weapons from various countries to the… pic.twitter.com/gBVTO0DboC— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) December 23, 2023
The video shows them tracking the car—with the cross-hairs on it—and waiting until it appeared to be relatively clear of other people around it.
Then you see an explosion of bright light in the area, and the car is wiped out.
The IDF announces that it has established full “operational control” over Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, which saw some of the fiercest fighting during the ground offensive against Hamas.
In a statement, the IDF says the 36th Division has completed dismantling Hamas’s “core… pic.twitter.com/0UvJ4qs3R6
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 21, 2023
On Thursday, the IDF announced they had eliminated four out of Hamas’ seven senior brigade commanders.
They also raided the homes of senior Hamas members and captured the headquarters of the Shejaiya battalion, a Hamas battalion involved in the Oct. 7 attack.
Their paratroopers took out more than 100 Hamas buildings in that area, uncovered dozens of tunnels, and arrested a company commander and other terrorists involved in the attack.
Now that they have close to full control in northern Gaza, they are going to be turning their attention to other areas of Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed Hamas in the south that they were going to face the same fate as the terrorists in the north just received.
In a video statement Gallant said:
I am sure that [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar is sitting in his bunker watching TV, he sees what Beit Hanoun looks like.
This is also true for the Hamas commander who is now fighting against our forces in Khan Younis, he understands how the story ended for the Beit Hanoun battalion.
Especially when the IDF blows up the tunnels and shows they can even take out their hiding places.