The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Monday that it had killed dozens more Hamas terrorists in Jabalya, a day after declaring that the terror group was nearly cleared out of the northern Gaza area.
According to the military, the operation was made possible by a combination of intelligence gathering and ambush tactics. The IDF has been operating in Jabalya multiple times this year, including in October and May, with each invasion leading to significant progress against Hamas.
After the May invasion, the IDF reported killing 300-500 terrorists and destroying 12 kilometers of Hamas tunnels. However, recent operations in October led the military to declare that most terrorists were cleared from the area.
The latest operation resulted in the deaths of dozens more terrorists and the arrest of around 204 individuals. The IDF announced that Jabalya was essentially cleared once again.
Despite this progress, the Israeli military admits that its intelligence may be flawed, with Hamas hiding among civilian populations or using fake identities to evade detection. The group has also successfully recruited new members among adolescents, many of whom have lost family and friends to the IDF in recent conflicts.
The rocket fire from northern Gaza may have prompted Hamas to clear out its remaining rockets, but the IDF has struggled to stop this type of violence entirely. This failure could lead to prolonged cuts to Jabalya, which is part of the northernmost half of northern Gaza.
In recent weeks, the IDF has been conducting mopping-up operations against smaller terror cells in northern Gaza, following a major evacuation of Palestinians from the area and the killing of many Hamas terrorists. The US and European allies have criticized Israel’s plan to empty all of northern Gaza, which was allegedly proposed by senior former IDF officials.
However, on Friday, the IDF arrested over 240 terrorists in a targeted operation against Hamas, largely embedded within the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalya, marking a significant development in the ongoing conflict.
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-835374