Video: Documentation of IDF activity in the Gaza Strip/Photo: Report
On Saturday night, the IDF completed preparations for the continuation of the ground maneuver in the southern Gaza Strip. Military sources explained that "the extensive attack in the past 24 hours was intended to damage the infrastructure of preparations, mainly Hamas, for the maneuver." According to the sources, the targets of the attacks were anti-tank missile launching positions, IEDs, observation posts, staging areas of the Nukhba force, Hamas' commando unit, and more.
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, a senior security source said the fighters would be required to go to "vital areas in the southern Gaza Strip, such as Hamas government centers." According to him, the IDF already owns 70 percent of the terrorist organization's governmental institutions, and even claimed that the IDF already controls 40 percent of the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, the official clarified that "the underground layer is more problematic." The official also said that the next phase of the fighting was expected to include Khan Yunis and Rafah, where the crossing had been inactive for the past <> hours.
Combatants in the Gaza Strip/IDF Spokesperson
"The points of gravity in terms of Hamas' decision from a governmental and military perspective are Gaza City, most of which is in the hands of the IDF, and Khan Yunis," the senior security source continued. "If these two points are under full Israeli control, then we have taken command and control from Hamas, which will take away its ability to lead processes against Israel and strengthen the pressure that will lead to the release of hostages at more reasonable prices."
The official also said that "the IDF must make an effort in the next stage so that the Palestinian public will not return to Gaza City, there are several methods to do so, we need to make the residents of the Gaza Strip think twice about whether it is worthwhile to return to the north." The source added that the divisions in the Gaza Strip know how to reach deep into the area even without rubbing shoulders with the Palestinian population that fled the north. "Therefore, the claim that it is impossible to maneuver in the south is not true," the source said.
Beginning yesterday at 06:30, with the end of the ceasefire following the rocket launches, the IDF launched a large-scale attack on the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas and the other Palestinian factions from the central Gaza Strip to Rafah. According to military sources, "the extensive attack on more than 400 terrorist targets involved IAF planes, artillery batteries, missile boats and special units." Other military sources clarified that the maneuver in the southern Gaza Strip was based on information arising from interrogations of captured Hamas terrorists and intelligence gathering by Military Intelligence, the Shin Bet and the Southern Command.
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