IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Director Ronen Bar on Saturday visited a Hamas tunnel in the heart of Khan Yunis, signaling Israel’s progress in the fighting in southern Gaza.
Halevi said, “You have a great advantage over those who fight against you. There is no place anywhere in the Gaza Strip where there is a force at your level,” referring to the seven full brigades fighting in Khan Yunis.
The IDF also announced the death of Lt. Col. Roee Mordechai, 31, a commander at the Nahal Brigade’s training base, from Tel Aviv, killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip,.
Also on Saturday night, IDF chief spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed an up-to-date photo of Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif .
The photo, the second to be revealed in recent weeks, shows Deif holding a stack of US dollars and a plastic cup of juice – further confirmation that despite wounds from past IDF assassination attempts, he is in better condition than expected.
Hagari said that “Hamas’s military framework in the northern Gaza Strip has been completely dismantled,” signaling the end of the recent campaign in the Darag – Tuffah area, the last northern Gaza stronghold after Jabalya fell on December 19.
IDF seizes weapons, destroys tunnels throughout Gaza
The military has seized tens of thousands of weapons in that area and millions of documents, Hagari said.
The IDF also announced it had killed Hamas’s Nuseirat Battalion commander Ismail Saraj and his deputy.
The IDF discovered Hamas Nukhba military vests hidden in UNRWA bags stashed in a medical clinic in northern Gaza. The raid was directed by intelligence after Israeli troops came under fire in the area in previous days.
A building next to the raided medical clinic contained RPGs, AK-47s, and ammunition.
Separately, in Khan Yunis, Israeli forces located and destroyed a weapons storage facility containing dozens of Kalashnikov rifles, the IDF added.
Troops, both on the ground and airborne, eliminated many terrorists in the south Gaza area on Friday, the IDF said. A number of tunnel shafts were also uncovered and demolished.
The facility also contained remotely detonated explosive devices, RPGs, and more than 100 ammunition cartridges, the military added.
In Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, and the neighborhood of Al-Furqan, troops identified drone operators targeting IDF personnel. In response, troops directed UAVs to strike at the terrorists.
Further fights in the north
Later, the IAF fighter jets recently attacked two military compounds belonging to Hezbollah. The compounds constituted significant assets for the organization, including one that was used by the terrorist organization's surface-to-air missile unit.
This was shortly after Israeli forces attacked a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, among the targets attacked were infrastructure, a terror squad, a launch position, and an operational headquarters all belonging to the terrorist organization.
During the day, several launches from Lebanese territory towards the areas of Yaftach and Avivib were detected in northern Israel. Also, earlier today, a surface-to-air missile was launched at a remotely manned aircraft of the IAF in Lebanese territory, the vessel was not damaged and continued its mission. The missile did not cross into Israeli territory.