Hamas “has lost control in Gaza” and its fighters are “fleeing towards the south”, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday after more than five weeks of war with the Palestinian Islamist movement.
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Civilians “loot Hamas bases. They no longer believe in the government (of Hamas, editor’s note) in power in the small Palestinian territory, relentlessly shelled by Israel and plunged into a catastrophic humanitarian situation, the minister also assured in a video message broadcast by several television channels.
Israel has been bombing Gaza relentlessly, from the air, land and sea, for more than five weeks in response to the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas on October 7 on its soil.
Since the end of October, its ground troops have been advancing in the north of the narrow territory and the fighting with Hamas fighters is now taking place in the heart of Gaza city where there are still tens of thousands of civilians.
The Israeli army reports daily new Hamas military infrastructures dismantled in Gaza, discoveries of weapons caches, tunnels and “commanders” of the Palestinian movement, classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, killed during operations.
According to Israeli military sources cited Monday in several media, Hamas had before October 7 some 30,000 fighters in the Gaza Strip, divided into five regional brigades, 24 battalions and some 140 companies.
According to the same sources, Hamas battalions in the northern Gaza Strip have suffered “significant blows” in recent weeks and many of them are now struggling to organize their attacks, due to the death of their commanders.
Many experts have warned of the dangerous face to face between the army and Hamas in devastated Gaza, which exposes both camps to a phase of high-risk urban fighting.
International humanitarian organizations are stepping up calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where drinking water, energy and medicine are sorely lacking, with humanitarian aid falling short. -drops.
Since October 7, Israeli bombings have killed 11,240 people, mostly civilians, including 4,630 children, in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas health ministry.
The Hamas attack left around 1,200 dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed on October 7, according to the latest official Israeli figures.