Hamas is approaching its breaking point in northern Gaza as Israeli forces surround its last two strongholds there and eliminate local commanders, Israel said on Monday.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that the Israel Defense Forces were “on the verge of dismantling” the remaining Palestinian terrorist strongholds in Jabalya and Shejaiya following mass surrenders in the area, CNN reports.
“We are close to a breaking point in the northern Gaza Strip,” Gallant said. “Anyone who prefers to surrender, as hundreds have already done, we will spare their lives.”
Gallant’s comments come a day after the IDF confirmed the death of Emad Krikae, the commander of Hamas’ Shejaiya Battalion.
Krikae was the leader believed to be behind the anti-tank missile training in Gaza City and allegedly participated in the rocket fire and raids carried out against Israel on October 7.
The Hamas official’s reign was short-lived. He was killed by Israeli forces, as was his predecessor, who was listed last week among the dozen other commanders, including Jabalya’s, killed in Gaza since the war began.
Emad Krikae, commander of Hamas’ Shejaiya Battalion, was confirmed dead on Monday. IDF
In addition to killing half of Hamas’ estimated 24 battalion leaders, the IDF said it had detained 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists over the past month. About 140 of the men were detained just over a week ago when the temporary ceasefire agreement collapsed.
The Israeli army noted that some of the agents “were caught hiding in civilian buildings, schools and shelters.”
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Members of the terrorist group have since been transferred to the Israel Security Agency and Unit 504 for further interrogation, the IDF said.
The details came days after about 100 Palestinian soldiers, many of whom were in their underwear, were caught on video surrendering to the IDF in Jabalya and Shejaiya.
Israeli soldiers seized a cache of weapons from a mosque in Jabalya. Via REUTERS
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller described the images of the nearly naked men as “deeply disturbing” during a press conference on Monday, adding that the US is investigating why those photos were released in the first place. .
Gallant stated that many of the fighters who surrendered to the IDF were short of food and weapons, as much of northern Gaza is struggling with a lack of resources since the war broke out.
There remains much concern about the fighting in Jabalya, which hosts one of the largest refugee camps in northern Gaza. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, dozens of casualties have been reported in the camp in recent days.
Smoke from the airstrikes can be seen from a refugee camp filled with Palestinians who fled Khan Younis. AFP via Getty Images Israeli soldiers continue the ground incursion into Gaza, which has led to the arrest of more than 500 terrorists. Via REUTERS
As the war continues in northern and southern Gaza, Israel also faces conflict along its northern border with Lebanon, where it exchanged missile fire with Hezbollah terrorists on Monday.
“In response to launches from Lebanon toward communities in the Western Galilee earlier today, IDF fighter jets attacked a Hezbollah military site,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Hezbollah confirmed the attack and that it suffered “a direct hit” from Israel, but noted that the terrorist group will continue fighting in support of Gaza.
The group then fired several anti-tank missiles at homes along Metula in northern Israel. The bombing, Hezbollah claimed, was in retaliation for the death of a Lebanese mayor in an earlier IDF airstrike.
The IDF has said it has surrounded the remaining Hamas forces in northern Gaza. Via REUTERS
Miller noted that the United States is also seeking answers about the fighting in Lebanon after claims that Israel had used white phosphorus missiles in one of the attacks.
Although not prohibited under international law, incendiary missiles are strictly regulated, and Israel faces harsh criticism after firing such rockets into the densely populated Gaza Strip in 2008.
“Any time we provide items like white phosphorus or anything else to another military, we do so with the expectation that it will be used for legitimate purposes and in full compliance with humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict,” Miller said.
Israeli troops clash with Hamas gunmen in Jabalya following the end of the truce agreement. Via REUTERS
As Israel battles Iranian-backed terrorist groups, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Jewish state claimed that the Ukraine war and the war between Israel and Hamas were actually part of a much broader global conflict between good and evil.
“Israel and Ukraine are now at the forefront of the free world war against the axis of evil led by Russia and Iran,” Ukrainian Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk said in a statement after a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Korniychuk urged Netanyahu not to ally with Russia and called Putin a hypocrite for showing concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
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