The hunt continues in the anthill of Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Hamas leader in the Palestinian enclave, Yahya Sinouar, was "on the run" and going "from hideout to hideout" as Israeli forces continue to bombard Khan Younès (south), his hometown.
“The leadership of Hamas and Yahya Sinouar at its head are on the run, Sinouar goes from hiding place to hiding place, he is incapable of communicating with those around him,” he assured, affirming that Sinouar did not command his forces but was concerned “with his personal survival”.
“He went from Hamas leader to fugitive terrorist, and IDF forces continue to pursue him,” he described.
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According to the Israeli newspaper Times of Israel, the Defense Minister also claimed that the IDF had inflicted severe losses on the ranks of the Palestinian Islamist movement.
According to him, "about half of Hamas terrorists were killed or seriously injured" during the ground operation in Gaza and the bombings carried out in parallel.
This would be equivalent to 18 “disbanded” battalions.
Yoav Gallant also said that disagreements between Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip and those abroad "prove that panic and distress" reign within the Palestinian terrorist group.
After the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas on its soil, Israel first responded by massively bombing the Gaza Strip, from where the terrorists had departed.
Then at the end of October, the army of the Jewish state entered the thin, overpopulated strip of land and has since been carrying out a large-scale operation there while continuing to bomb.
The war will last “for months”
After completing its operations in Gaza City in the north, the IDF has focused since the start of the year on the center of the enclave and the town of Khan Younes.
On Monday, the Israeli Minister of Defense spoke of the third city in the Gaza Strip: Rafah, located in the south, part of the enclave until now preserved from urban fighting.
“Every terrorist hiding in Rafah should know that their end will be similar to that of Khan Yunis and Gaza (city),” he threatened.
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At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu estimated that the war would last “months” but “not years”.
“Our goal is complete victory over Hamas,” he told the Knesset (Israeli parliament).
“We will kill Hamas leaders, so we must continue to operate in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
We must not end the war before then.
It will take time – months, not years,” he added.