Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 29, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 29, 2024
Hamas’s Rafah Brigade has ‘collapsed’ and 80% of Philadelphi tunnels neutralized, say military sources
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (right) views a tunnel found along the Philadelphi Corridor in southern Gaza's Rafah, August 14, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Hamas’s Rafah Brigade has “collapsed” as a result of the IDF’s ongoing offensive in the city in the southern Gaza Strip, military sources say.
The remarks come a week after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the Rafah Brigade had been defeated.
According to the IDF, around 80% of Hamas’s tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area, have been neutralized.
The military has also seen Hamas operatives increasingly trying to escape from tunnels in Rafah and flee north to the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone. The IDF has successfully been ambushing Hamas gunmen in the area who have tried to flee, military sources add.
