Hamas Has ‘Lost Control’ of Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Says

Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, told his nation Monday evening that Hamas has lost control of the Gaza strip, with residents looting Hamas bases indiscriminately and terrorists once holed up in the north fleeing south in increasing numbers.Images circulating on social media and in the Israeli press seemed to confirm the rapid progress of the Israeli troops. One image, posted to X Monday, depicted a couple dozen troops with Israel’s Golani Brigades posing for a picture in Gaza’s parliamentary chambers on a main street in the middle of Gaza City.In an update following what was described as a “situational awareness” inspection of the war’s progress, Mr. Gallant said Israeli forces are accomplishing their goals with “precision, lethality, and full coordination between ground, air, and naval forces, with the aid of precise intelligence.”“There is no force of Hamas capable of stopping the IDF,” Mr. Gallant said, according to local reports. “The IDF is advancing to every point. The Hamas organization has lost control of Gaza. Terrorists are fleeing south. Civilians are looting Hamas bases. They have no confidence in the government.”He said Israeli forces have completely encircled Gaza City and are tightening their noose hour-by-hour. The next target, he added, are the networks of tunnels that run for miles underneath the city and are used by Hamas fighters to move around unimpeded. “Either they will die there or surrender unconditionally,” he said of those in the tunnels. “There is no third option.”The IDF has said that before October 7, Hamas had as many as 30,000 fighters in the Gaza strip separated into five regional brigades posted to certain sections of the region. Each of those brigades man outposts in their respective regions and count among them anti-tank, sniper, engineering, and rocket-firing teams.The IDF has focused on taking out the command structures of those brigades, especially in the north, since the ground invasion began more than two weeks ago. Those northern forces have suffered what the IDF on Monday said were “significant blows” in recent days, and are struggling to mount any large-scale resistance to the Israeli troops in the area as a result.Among the hardest hit of the Hamas forces are what is described as the Shati Camp battalion, which operates its main command center beneath the Shifa Hospital, and the Daraj-Tuffah battalion, which has lost its entire senior command as well as some 260 rank-and-file soldiers, the IDF told Israeli press outlets.Mr. Gallant said the onslaught will continue indefinitely and said his forces are under no time pressures, despite comments earlier in the day from Israel’s foreign minister that the country has between two and three weeks before international pressure to halt the campaign becomes more intense.“We are working according to assignments,” Mr. Gallant said. “We have no clocks, only targets, and we will reach those targets. The first of them is total victory against Hamas and returning all hostages to their homes.”

Hamas Has ‘Lost Control’ of Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Says

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