IDF chief exhorts troops to defeat Hamas’s Rafah Brigade

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, where he met with soldiers of the Golani and 188th Armored Brigades and commanders from the 36th Division and Southern Command.

During the visit, Zamir conducted a situational assessment in the area of the Morag Corridor, a buffer between the Strip’s southernmost city of Rafah and central Gaza, forming part of a broader campaign to pressure Hamas into releasing Israeli hostages and dismantling its operational networks.

Addressing the troops, Zamir emphasized the importance of their mission and praised their achievements.

“You have returned to operate in the Gaza Strip, in areas where IDF troops are operating for the first time—I expect you to defeat Hamas’s Rafah Brigade and to achieve victory wherever you operate,” he told the soldiers.

Zamir highlighted the success of recent operations in the Morag Corridor, which he said “caught the enemy by surprise, resulted in the elimination of dozens of terrorists, and led to the locating of numerous weapons.”

“With Passover approaching—the holiday of freedom—our mission here is clear and just: the return of all our hostages, victory and the dismantling of Hamas,” said Zamir.

He also commended the sustained efforts of the 36th Division and Southern Command, noting their “significant accomplishments and victories in combat” both in Gaza and along the northern border.

The visit underscores the IDF’s continued focus on Rafah as a key battleground in its campaign to dismantle Hamas’s remaining military infrastructure in Gaza.

IDF expands ground ops, carries out over 45 airstrikes

The IDF continued its ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, targeting and dismantling terror infrastructure and eliminating terrorists. According to an IDF statement, the Air Force struck over 45 terror-related sites in the past 24 hours.

In Rafah, the 143rd Division intensified its activity in the Tel al-Sultan area, locating tunnel shafts and destroying underground infrastructure. Meanwhile, the 36th Division advanced operations along the Morag Corridor.

In northern Gaza’s Shuja’iyya neighborhood, the 252nd Division, in coordination with the Air Force, destroyed a weapons cache and killed several terrorists.

The latest airstrikes, carried out with guidance from Military Intelligence, the Southern Command, and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), targeted rocket launch sites, weapons production facilities, and terrorist cells across the Strip.

Givati Brigade dismantles tunnel shaft, terror infrastructure

Israeli troops from the Givati Brigade Combat Team, operating under the Gaza Division (143), are conducting an ongoing mission in the Shabura neighborhood of Rafah in southern Gaza, the IDF announced Wednesday.

During the operation, soldiers uncovered and dismantled significant terrorist infrastructure, including a tunnel shaft located adjacent to a residential building and a weapons cache containing mortar rounds intended for use against IDF forces.

Additionally, several armed terrorists who posed an immediate threat to the troops were eliminated during the course of the operation.

The IDF emphasized that operations will continue in the Gaza Strip in order to dismantle terrorist networks and protect the citizens of Israel.