About 3,000 terrorists entered Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip on the morning of October 7, under cover of massive artillery fire from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. This is according to the latest assessments by the Southern Command. Of these, about 1,000 terrorists were killed by Israel and their bodies by the security establishment, and another 200 terrorists were taken prisoner and are being interrogated by the Israel Security Agency.
Watch: Footage from the activities of the 162nd Division forces in the Gaza Strip // IDF Spokesperson
Apart from those 3,000 Hamas terrorists, there were quite a few Palestinian looters who entered Israeli territory. The Southern Command estimates that had it not been for the actions they call "rapid," and without the command and control system in the IDF and the Southern Command, the blow Israel would have received on the morning of the Simchat Torah massacre could have been even worse.
IDF assessment: The war will continue for many months
From the first moment, the Southern Command declared a state of war, and since that Black Saturday an unprecedented attack effort has been carried out in the Gaza Strip. Just this morning, the IDF announced 11,000 targets attacked in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war. Among the planners of the operational plan was Major General Yossi Bachar, whose mother was murdered, and who on the first day of the operation fought and killed 11 terrorists in Bari.
Maj. Gen. Bachar has been close to the commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, since the beginning of the fighting. At the beginning of the fighting, he took a fifteen-minute break on the roof of the command, during which shiva sat on his mother and said Kaddish.
Results of an attack in Jabaliya, photo: Arab networks
The army notes that the goals of the war defined by the political echelon – toppling Hamas over its governmental and military capabilities – are correct, clear and realistic. The Southern Command notes that the security situation vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip must fundamentally change, and the way to do so is to ensure that Hamas will not be sovereign in Gaza, and that there will also be no significant military or governmental force.
The IDF's assessment is that the war will continue for many months, although not in the same way throughout the entire period. The army explains that the plan is for Hamas to cease functioning as a military organization in the Gaza Strip, and the ways to achieve this goal are varied, since "there is not a single master key that opens this door."
One way or another, the IDF's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, which began last weekend, is entering critical moments, since the IDF has reached Hamas' last line of defense inside the built-up area in the northern Gaza Strip, and is located in geographical centers of gravity deep inside the Gaza Strip.
Gaza before and after the fighting, photo: IDF Spokesperson
The fighting in recent days has been stubborn, the forces are hitting hundreds and even thousands of terrorists, but despite the fact that the advance is being made after a "curtain of fire" that goes ahead of the forces, the terrorists manage to tail the forces.
The ground operation "has just begun"
So far, 11 IDF fighters were killed yesterday in the northern Gaza Strip in three separate incidents. Two of the fatalities were fighters from the Givati Patrol who were killed as a result of an RPG hit in a house, two armored fighters from the 77th Battalion were killed as a result of an anti-tank missile, and at least seven fighters from the Sabra Battalion of the Givati Brigade were killed as a result of an anti-tank missile hit the APC in which they were traveling.
At the same time, the army stresses that the ground operation has "just begun," and that more heavy prices are expected that Israel will have to pay. At this stage of the fighting, the operational logic is extensive attacks in the Gaza Strip, hitting commanders, especially Hamas commanders and battalion commanders.
In addition to the extensive activity of the ground forces, the IDF also carries out special operations in the Gaza Strip, about which it is impossible to elaborate too much. At the same time, the release of observer Uri Magidish in the battle of Lili was published, and the IDF defines the night of her rescue as "imaginary."
The activity of the 162nd Division forces in the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF Spokesperson
In this context, the army also notes that one of the goals of the war defined is to create conditions for the return of the hostages, and whatever the IDF can do with its military power – it will do, and will even take "great risks" for this purpose, since this is a moral imperative.
During the maneuver, the army intends to deal with the issue of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, which the IDF defines as "Hamas centers, unequivocally, in the most cynical and blatant sense." The beginning of the confrontation can be seen in the information disseminated by the IDF Spokesperson about Shifa Hospital, which is used by Hamas commanders.
As part of the lessons of the Second Lebanon War, this time the senior commanders can be seen with the forces in front, and not behind the plasmas in the front of the divisions and brigades. The commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, also enters the Gaza Strip every day, reaching the first line reached by the forces.
"At the gates of Gaza City"
The commander of the 162nd Division, Brigadier General Itzik Cohen, said in his statement: "On October 7, Hamas chose to go to war - a war it chose. We did not choose war. On that day, the division forces jumped from everywhere - from the north, from homes, from the Judea and Samaria Division - all this in order to save lives."
Commander of the 'Steel' Division: "We are now in the midst of a campaign" // IDF Spokesperson
"During the first two days, within the communities, we tried to save lives and destroyed everything in order to get our hands on the people alive. During those two days, we lost dearest ones, among them the commander of the Nahal Brigade, the commander of the Nahal Patrol, his deputy, two company commanders and 28 other fighters who are very dear to us. A day later, we embarked on a very important mission, which is preparation for what we are doing now."
"About five days ago, we were given an important mission to defeat Hamas. We are now in the midst of a campaign. The division's forces are deep in the Gaza Strip at the gates of Gaza City. We are at the gates of Gaza City. Over the past five days, I have met fighters and commanders who fight shoulder to shoulder with courage and understand their mission well, striving for contact."
"Even now, we have lost very dear people. Heroes of Israel. I saw the gleam in their eyes, we went to this war to hold the hand of Hamas that chose to choke our throats. We will win, we understand that the mission is a long one, we have all the strength and all the backing in the world to do it."
"Over the past five days, we have dismantled many Hamas capabilities, attacked strategic facilities, its entire IED system, its underground system, and other arrays we have completely dismantled, and we will meet it later in missions in the coming days in order to defeat it. We believe in this way, we believe in this mission. This is a war for the existence of the State of Israel and we will win it."
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