IDF Chief of Staff: Israel Close to ‘Dismantling’ Hamas in Northern Gaza

Israel’s success in the war against the Palestinian Hamas terrorist organization has been so complete that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are close to completely dismantling Hamas in Northern Gaza, said IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on Thursday.

Addressing soldiers in a video produced by the IDF, Halevi said:

In the ongoing progression of the war, with what you did here with these battalions, the 36th and the 252nd Divisions, we are close to dismantling the military system that was present in the northern Gaza Strip. While there remains work to be completed, we are approaching it successfully. The IDF will continue in its operations within the Gaza Strip, and as far as we are concerned, more and more regions [will be targeted], systematically eliminating commanding officers and eliminating operatives, and eradicating the infrastructure. Your performance so far has been exemplary; draw upon the lessons learned in the past three weeks and do it even better.

Israel has begun to move — slowly and methodically — through civilian institutions used by Hamas, such as hospitals and schools. By advancing within and around Shifa Hospital, the IDF also recovered the bodies of two hostages killed in Hamas custody. The goal is to uncover the underground Hamas tunnel network — which is thought to be heavily booby-trapped — and to find more clues that lead to the whereabouts of the nearly 240 hostages that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad continue to hold.

Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant hinted earlier this week that the IDF would continue its fight into southern Gaza once it was finished in the north. The goal is to completely destroy Hamas forces.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.