A senior Israeli military officer announced on Thursday that Israeli forces are "dismantling" the infrastructure of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Khan Younis, after more than two months of entering the main city in southern Gaza. He added that Israeli forces believe Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, is hiding there. The progress made in Khan Younis has led Israel to describe Rafah as the next target in its ground invasion with troops and tanks.
Most of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza are currently sheltering in Rafah, having been displaced from other areas during four months of fighting, and they fear that they will soon find themselves in the line of fire. Egypt is also monitoring the situation in Rafah and is unlikely to allow any waves of refugees to flow across the border into the Sinai Peninsula.
The senior Israeli officer stated that operations in Khan Younis to eradicate Hamas and recover any hostages that may be there will continue "whether it takes two hours, two days, a week, a month, or even longer." The officer, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that Israeli forces have killed two thousand militants and wounded four thousand, capturing "hundreds" more. He added that this has largely eliminated Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade, which he said had five battalions before the war.
Hamas rarely publishes details about its members' positions or its losses. The officer noted, "The Khan Younis Brigade was the strongest brigade owned by Hamas, and its commander had strict control." He added, "We are dismantling it, layer by layer." The officer mentioned that attacks by Palestinian militants are becoming increasingly random, indicating a loss of leadership and control.
Hamas claims that its ambushes continue to inflict casualties on Israel. Khan Younis is the birthplace of Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7 attack that resulted in deaths and abductions in southern Israel, sparking the war. The officer said, "My estimation, without a doubt, is that he is in Khan Younis along with some of the remaining Hamas leadership."
The army is releasing images of what it claims are Hamas tunnels discovered in Khan Younis, with areas covered in white tiles and cells where hostages were presumably held. The officer avoided answering whether the tunnels are extensive enough to allow Hamas leaders to sneak out of Khan Younis and evade capture, simply stating, "Movement can be made a few kilometers (underground)," without elaborating further.
