IDF could take six months to clear Hamas from north Gaza

The ongoing Israeli military operation to clear Hamas terrorists from northern Gaza could take at least another six months, IDF officials told Ynet on Sunday.

Jabaliya has been cut off from Gaza City, located some 2.5 miles to the south, during the weeks-long assault, with Israeli forces taking control of the area and allowing civilians to evacuate.

Facial recognition technology was used to ensure that terrorists were not among those exiting the combat zone, and so far security forces have captured and detained some 600 suspected Hamas terrorists.

Tens of thousands of civilians heeded the IDF’s call and evacuated, but thousands remain. The IDF increased its use of artillery fire after the risk to civilians was reduced. Several hundred terrorists also remain in the city, forcing the military to operate there for a few more days.

“The forces in effect implemented part of a plan devised by former high-ranking members of the military, to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching areas under Hamas control and thereby undermine its rule,” Ynet military correspondent Yoav Zitun wrote.

“In the first week of the assault, Jabaliya was surrounded while the military urged civilians to leave, but after American pressure, aid was once again allowed in, straight to the hands of Hamas,” he continued.

Jabaliya was considered a Hamas stronghold, and many terrorists returned there after troops withdrew earlier this year, forcing the return of the IDF to prevent the terrorist group from regrouping.

“We found an exhausted population, hungry and weak, arriving at our gates of passage, and without civilians, Hamas cannot exist,” IDF officials said.

“Interrogations of terrorists have been useful and provide intelligence on where Hamas planted explosives and where they keep their weapons,” they continued.

The IDF provided an update on the progress in Jabaliya on Sunday morning, saying that dozens of terrorists were killed over the past day and noting that the Kfir Infantry Brigade has begun operating in the area, calling in an airstrike that eliminated a terrorist cell that posed a threat to troops.

Furthermore, IDF soldiers continue to operate in the central and southern Gaza Strip, locating weapons and eliminating terrorist cells. Over the past day, troops dismantled weapons storage facilities and killed terrorists.

On the northern front, Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon could continue for months yet, Reuters reported on Friday.

Nir Oz perpetrator slain

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza last week killed a Hamas Nukhba terrorist who participated in the massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of the northwestern Negev.

Raafat Ibrahim Mahmoud Akdeih served as an aide to the commander of the Nukhba commandos in Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade, according to the IDF.

Around 25% of the 400 residents of Nir Oz were murdered, wounded or kidnapped during the Hamas-led assault.