“200 terrorists surrendered” Galant: Hamas has lost its fighting spirit
February 18, 2024, 10:59 pm Listen to the article
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Israel has been fighting Islamic Hamas for months. The Israeli Defense Minister now reports that several supporters of the terrorist organization have surrendered. He assumes that the militia in the Gaza Strip has disintegrated.
Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant is convinced that the fighting spirit of Hamas' Islamic militias in the Gaza Strip has been broken after more than four months of war. “200 terrorists surrendered (in Khan Yunis) at Nasser Hospital, dozens more at Amal Hospital,” Galant said in a meeting with army commanders. “This shows that Hamas has lost its fighting spirit,” he added. The information could not initially be independently verified.
Furthermore, the Hamas leadership under its Gaza chief, Jihia al-Sinwar, who is hiding from Israeli security forces, has lost contact with the outside world. “The Hamas branch in Gaza is not responding,” Galant said. “There was no one local left to talk to.” Hamas has only organized forces in the central Gaza Strip and in Rafah, the southern border city with Egypt. If the army decides to act there, “there will be no one who can help them – neither Iranians nor international support.”
A controversial deployment
Galant met with the commanders of units fighting in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army has been operating against Hamas in the southern city of Khan Yunis for several weeks. She is also preparing an operation in Rafah. The Israeli government has not yet made a decision on this matter. Military action in the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip is highly controversial because 1.3 million Palestinians are crowded there, most of whom have fled fighting elsewhere on the coast.
The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 in Israel, near the border with Gaza. On the Israeli side, more than 1,200 people were killed. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has risen to almost 29,000 since the start of the war.