Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday the 13th that Hamas had “lost control” of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory ruled by the Islamist movement for 16 years and the target of an Israeli operation.
“Hamas has lost control of Gaza. The terrorists flee south. Civilians are looting Hamas bases,” Gallant said, without providing any evidence.
Civilians “no longer believe in the government” of Hamas, the minister added in a video shown on Israel’s main television channels.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel has been bombing the Gaza Strip continuously.
In addition, his troops have been advancing overland in the north of the Gaza Strip since the end of October. Currently, most of the fighting is concentrated in Gaza City, where tens of thousands of civilians still remain.
According to Israeli military figures cited by several media outlets on Monday, Hamas had around 30,000 fighters in the Gaza Strip before October 7, spread across five regional brigades, 24 battalions and around 140 companies.
According to the same sources, Hamas battalions in northern Gaza have suffered “severe blows” in recent weeks, and many of them are barely able to organize their attacks due to the high number of casualties.
International humanitarian organizations have repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Palestinian territory, which is hit by restrictions on supplies of drinking water, energy and medicine. Humanitarian aid is arriving drop by drop.
According to the Hamas government’s Health Ministry, Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip killed 11,240 people, mostly civilians, including 4,630 children.
According to the latest official information from the Israeli authorities, the attack by the Islamist movement claimed around 1,200 lives on the Israeli side, most of them civilians.