On Thursday night, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that the IDF had achieved a decisive victory over Hamas in Khan Yunis, the terror group’s stronghold in southern Gaza.
According to Jerusalem Post, He said that the IDF had inflicted heavy casualties on Hamas, killing or wounding 10,000 fighters in Khan Yunis alone, compared to 9,000 killed or wounded a week and a half ago.
He added that the IDF had also arrested nearly 2,500 Hamas terrorists, which means that more than half of Hamas’s pre-war forces of 30,000-40,000 are now out of action.
Gallant claimed that the IDF had dismantled Hamas’s last battalions in Khan Yunis, including in the western part of the city, which is the heart of Hamas’s power base in southern Gaza.
This claim seems to be ahead of the IDF’s own statements, which earlier this week said that it was close to eliminating Hamas’s final battalion in the western section, but that it could take some more time.
It is not clear if the IDF had made some rapid advances in the last few days, or if Gallant was speaking optimistically.
The IDF has not yet confirmed that it has full control of Khan Yunis, as it did in northern Gaza in late December and early January.
Gallant also promised to wipe out Hamas in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, where the IDF has refrained from sending ground troops so far to avoid upsetting Egypt.
However, some senior officials told the Jerusalem Post that they believe that Hamas’s top leaders and many hostages have fled from Khan Yunis to Rafah.
