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IDF Has Killed or Wounded 60% of Hamas Terrorists in Gaza, Israeli Defense Chief Says
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attends a joint press conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 28, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has killed or wounded 60 percent of Hamas fighters during its ongoing military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group in Gaza, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Speaking on Wednesday to lawmakers at the Knesset, the name of Israel’s parliament, Gallant also revealed that Israeli forces have eliminated most of Hamas’ 24 battalions.
“The action of the IDF that has so far led to the elimination of over 14,000 terrorists and the collapse of the military frameworks of Hamas is, in fact, the testimony of what I am saying,” he said. “Everything will be done in accordance with the law and in accordance with the operational need.”
Gallant also described how anyone who participated in Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel will be held accountable.
“There is no refuge and no safe place for those who took part in the massacre against Israeli citizens; we will bring him to justice,” he said. “Eventually, we will reach them all.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists launched the ongoing war on Oct. 7 by invading southern Israel, murdering 1,200 people, and kidnapping about 250 others as hostages. Mounting evidence has revealed that the terrorists also systematically perpetrated rampant sexual violence, including gang-rape and torture, against the Israeli people during the onslaught.
Israel responded with a military campaign in neighboring Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling the terrorist group’s military and governing capabilities.
“There are only two options for these people: prison or the graveyard,” Gallant said of those involved in the Oct. 7 atrocities, according to Israeli media reports.
“IDF soldiers have been working tirelessly for nine months in the most just war we have known throughout our existence,” the defense chief added. “IDF soldiers fought courageously and stopped them during the first days, and then moved the war to enemy territory with a powerful attack.”
However, Gallant noted the importance of maintaining international support during the war.
“We have returned half of the hostages and we are determined to return the rest,” he said. “The security establishment is determined to achieve the goals of the war. In order for us to be able to do these things, it is appropriate that we preserve our support on the battlefield.”
Beyond answering questions from Israeli lawmakers, Gallant also met with US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk.
“The two discussed the importance of seizing the opportunity created to achieve an agreement for the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza,” the defense ministry said in a statement about the meeting, which took place on Tuesday evening.
“They discussed the challenges that remain in achieving such an agreement, as well as possible solutions to address them,” the ministry said.
According to the statement, Gallant also said that while Israel supports the opening of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, the Jewish state will not tolerate the return of Hamas to the area.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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250 Hezbollah Terrorists Including 21 Commanders Eliminated in Ground Op
DF operating in southern Lebanon. Photo: IDF Spokesperson
i24 News – The Israeli military eliminated 250 Hezbollah terrorists including 21 commanders in four days of ground combat, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday.
IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon have uncovered vast caches of weapons and munitions in civilian residences, showing how central embedding within civilian population is to Hezbollah’s mode of warfare.
Meanwhile, heavy strikes targeting the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh in southern Beirut were ongoing, Lebanese media reported.
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Airstrikes Launched on Several Parts of Yemen, Houthi Al Masirah TV says
Illustrative. Hodeidah, Yemen, July 20, 2024. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS
Airstrikes were launched on Friday at several parts of Yemen including its capital Sanaa and Hodeidah airport, Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement controlling much of Yemen, and residents said.
Strikes also targeted the south of Dhamar city and the southeast of al-Bayda province, the channel added.
Residents said that the attack on al-Bayda province targeted several Houthi military outposts.
Al Masirah TV reported that the strikes had been carried out by the United States and British forces, but a British government source said Britain was not involved.
Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since last November in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel‘s war with Hamas.
The attacks have drawn US and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.
Following the airstrikes, a Houthi spokesman called the attack “a desperate attempt,” adding that “Yemen will not be deterred by these attacks and will continue its steadfastness in confronting the enemies.”
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IDF Kills Hamas Commander in Tulkarem
Illustrative. Israeli troops during counterterrorism activity in Tulkarem, northwestern Samaria, September 2024. Photo: IDF.
JNS.org – An Israeli Air Force fighter jet conducted a rare strike in Tulkarem in the West Bank on Thursday night, targeting top Hamas terrorist Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi.
The Palestinian Authority reported at least 18 fatalities in the strike, with a local security source telling Agence France-Presse it was the deadliest in Judea and Samaria since the Second Intifada.
Ayyth Radwan, the head of Islamic Jihad’s Tulkarem branch, was also reportedly killed.
Oufi was planning a terrorist attack “in the immediate time frame,” according to the Israel Defense Forces, and directed the thwarted car bombing last month near Ateret in the Binyamin region of Samaria.
There were no casualties in the incident, which Israel Ganz, the head of the Binyamin Regional Council, called a “great miracle.”
The IDF said Oufi was involved in smuggling weapons to terrorists who perpetrated several recent attacks against Israelis, including some that resulted in injuries to civilians.
He also “worked to establish terrorist networks on behalf of Hamas and assisted terror operatives in the area to carry out significant shooting and explosive attacks,” added the military.
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