According to the country's army, twelve battalions of the extremist group are without a fight; The focus of the war shifts to the midsouth of the region
The Israeli army claimed on Saturday (January 6, 2024) that it had destroyed Hamas as an organized fighting force in the north of the Gaza Strip. This begins a new phase of the war for the country, which shifts the focus to the center and south of the region.
IDF (Israel Defense Forces) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement that twelve battalions of the extremist group based in the north had already lost their functionality as combat units.
According to him, 8,000 members of the group, including commanders, were killed and around 30,000 weapons were confiscated. Israel estimates that Hamas has around 25,000 to 30,000 troops and 20 battalions across the Gaza Strip.
The country claims that the new phase of the war will be of “low intensity” clashes to minimize the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Israel began a phased troop withdrawal from Gaza last week to allow military reservists to return to their jobs in the country to restart the economy.
This Sunday (January 7, 2024) marks 3 months of the war coming to an end. According to Al Jazeera, at least 22,835 Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip, including 9,600 children and 6,750 women. In Israel, 1,139 people died in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Expulsion of the Palestinians
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in an interview with NBC News this Sunday that the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is “absolutely” not the country's position. “A minister can say whatever he wants. I may not like it, but this is Israeli policy,” he explained.
Israeli ministers such as Bezalel Smotritch (Finance) and Itamar BenGvir (National Security) defended the withdrawal of part of the Palestinian population from the region.
Last week, the US State Department said that this idea was unacceptable and that the country rejected the ministers' statements. “This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible,” spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.