Gallant: IDF razed 150 tunnels on Egypt-Gaza border, defeated Hamas’s Rafah Brigade
Army says it killed dozens of gunmen and struck 30 targets, including Hamas command post in a school; urges evacuation from humanitarian area set to become ‘dangerous combat zone’

More than 150 tunnels have been demolished along Gaza’s southern border, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Wednesday, as the army said it destroyed some 30 terror sites and killed dozens of gunmen in airstrikes across the enclave over the past day.
The IDF on Wednesday also called on Palestinians to evacuate from part of the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah where the army vowed to “forcefully operate” against terror groups.
Speaking to troops at the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the border, Gallant said the IDF’s 162nd Division had defeated Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, which is centered in the Strip’s southernmost city.
“The most important thing,” he said, “is to remember what the goals of the war are, to meet all the goals of the war, both regarding Hamas and also regarding the hostages, and to look north now.” Gallant was referring to simmering tensions with Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, which earlier in the day fired over 50 rockets at the north amid fears of an all-out war.
Meanwhile, the army said it carried out airstrikes on rocket launch sites, tunnel shafts, observation posts and a Hamas command center within a school in Gaza City, in the Strip’s north.
In the Strip’s south and center, ground troops raided Hamas sites and killed gunmen, the army said.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said at least 50 Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured in airstrikes over the past 24 hours.

The fighting raged on as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed home after failing to secure a hostages-for-ceasefire deal on his latest trip to the region, warning both Israel and Hamas the American proposal may be the last chance to avert a broader war.
Politico said Wednesday that US and Israeli officials feared the talks were “on the brink of collapsing.”
IDF destroys terror sites as ground troops battle gunmen
In Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood, troops with the 162nd Division killed dozens of armed terror operatives, destroyed sites belonging to terror groups and located numerous weapons, the IDF said Wednesday.
Farther north, troops with the 98th Division killed dozens more gunmen and raided Hamas sites on the outskirts of Deir el-Balah and in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the military said.
The division also directed an airstrike on several terror operatives who had been spotted in an area from which rockets were launched at Israeli border communities several times in recent days, the IDF said.
In central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, reservists with the 252nd Division struck buildings that the IDF said were used by Hamas to attack troops.

In the Strip’s north, an IAF airstrike hit Hamas operatives at a command room embedded within a school in Gaza City, the army said.
According to the military, Hamas was using the command room at the Salah ad-Din School to plan and carry out attacks on Israel and troops in Gaza.
The IDF said it took “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and other intelligence.
The military added it will “continue to act with strength and determination against the terror organizations that use schools and civilian institutions as shelters.”
In recent months, the army has carried out dozens of airstrikes on Hamas sites embedded within schools and other sites used as shelters for civilians, according to the IDF. On Tuesday, the army struck what it said was a Hamas command center at a school in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood.

IDF calls to evacuate part of humanitarian area
Amid the fighting, the IDF called on people to evacuate an Israeli-designated humanitarian area in eastern Deir el-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter. The military said it would soon act against terror groups in the area.
The area is a few hundred meters away from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, one of the last functioning medical centers in the territory. There was no evacuation order for the hospital itself, but during past evacuations people have fled from areas adjacent to the declared zones for fear the fighting could spread.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, published on X a map of the zones that need to be evacuated.
Adraee said that the military will “forcefully operate” against terror groups in the area.
“For your safety, we urge you to evacuate immediately to the west. The area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone,” he added.
#عاجل الى كل السكان والنازحين المتواجدين في بلوكات 129, 130 في حارات المحطة ودير البلح جنوباً، من شارع صلاح الدين وحتى الشارع المحدد على الخريطة.
⭕️جيش الدفاع الاسرائيلي سوف يعمل بقوة ضد المنظمات الارهابية في تلك المنطقة.
⭕️من أجل أمنكم، نناشدكم بالإخلاء بشكل فوري غرباً.… pic.twitter.com/gpaPZY2OEo— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) August 21, 2024
The size of the humanitarian zone has changed multiple times, amid evolving IDF operations against the Hamas terror group.
The humanitarian zone is currently around 42 square kilometers, or 11% of the Gaza Strip’s 40 by 11 kilometers (25 by 7 miles). According to IDF estimates, 1.9 million Palestinians, or some 83 percent, of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are residing in the humanitarian zone.
The Hamas health ministry says over 40,000 people have been killed in the war in Gaza. The figure, which cannot be verified, does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has lost 335 troops in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip.
The war was sparked when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages. It is believed that 105 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Agencies contributed to this report.