It was only a matter of time. Israeli forces have cut the Gaza Strip in two, encircled Gaza City, and placed a chokehold on Hamas. They’re closing in on the reported nerve center of the terror group. Israeli soldiers captured Hamas’ parliament chamber yesterday. So, it’s not all that surprising that Israel has broken Hamas’ grip in Northern Gaza (via Reuters):
Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza as thousands of residents have moved south, Israel's military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing on Wednesday.
"We saw 50,000 Gazans move from the northern Gaza Strip to the south. They are moving because they understand that Hamas has lost control in the north," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. "Hamas has lost control and is continuing to lose control in the north."
Hamas also cannot stop the IDF, though that was never a concern. Hamas reportedly has tens of thousands of fighters and an intricate tunnel network. Still, Israel’s forces always had the capability and technological assets to neutralize the terror group’s defensive capabilities, though it would take time, and it could’ve been bloody.
The IDF has released intelligence on #Hamas's military structure, indicating that the group has 30,000 fighters, divided into 5 Brigages, 24 battalions and 120 companies.
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) November 13, 2023
5,500 fighters are part of the northern Gaza Brigade, 9,000 of the Gaza City Brigade.
The IDF also claims… pic.twitter.com/aqkslCBh6y
The tunnels are booby-trapped, some of which are hundreds of feet underground. It’s why some were suggesting Israel bomb the tunnels and bury the terrorists underground to die instead of navigating the narrow passages from which a few Hamas terrorists could inflict heavy casualties as IDF forces become bottlenecked. You can also easily get lost. Blessedly, on all fronts in Israel’s ground operation, their forces are advancing (via Times of Israel):
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Hamas had lost control in the Gaza Strip, as the Israel Defense Forces moved to fully capture Gaza City.
“There is no force of Hamas capable of stopping the IDF. The IDF is advancing at every location. The Hamas organization has lost control in Gaza: Terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases. They have no confidence in the government,” Gallant said, after holding an assessment on the fighting.
On Monday evening the army said forces raided Gaza City’s Rantisi Hospital, which treats children, and that Hamas operatives had been holed up there. It said it had evidence indicating hostages were held there.
[…]
The IDF said it had killed a number of Hamas commanders in airstrikes in the Strip over the past day. Among the senior officers was Yakub Ashur, the commander of Hamas’s anti-tank guided missile array in the terror group’s Khan Younis Brigade, the IDF says.
The IDF said Ashur, “as part of his role, took part in leading and directing offenses against IDF forces.”
Separate strikes also killed Hamis Dababash, a veteran member of the terror group and the former head of Hamas’s intelligence division; Tahsin Maslam, the head of the combat support company for Hamas’s special operations in Beit Lahia; Jihad Azam, a Hamas intelligence officer in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City; and Munir Harb, head of information in the Rafah Brigade.
Good. Keep killing these terrorist pigs.