IDF details ‘significant blows’ it’s dealt to Hamas’s northern Gaza forces, commanders
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces details its efforts to eliminate Hamas’s field commanders and disrupt the terror group’s operations against Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
According to the IDF, before October 7, Hamas had some 30,000 fighters in the Gaza Strip, split into five regional brigades, 24 battalions and some 140 companies.
Each Hamas brigade has an anti-tank missile array, sniper and engineering teams, air defenses, and a rocket firing array, the IDF says. Each brigade also has a number of outposts and strongholds in their respective regions.
The IDF says it has focused on killing the commanders of the brigades and battalions, especially those in northern Gaza where the military is carrying out its ground offensive.
According to the IDF, the Hamas battalions in northern Gaza have suffered “significant blows” and many are struggling to carry out large-scale organized attacks, due to their commanders being killed in Israeli operations.
The IDF says Hamas’s Shati Camp and Daraj-Tuffah battalions have been hit the hardest.
The Shati Camp Battalion’s deputy commander, several company commanders and 200 more operatives have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and ground operations. Some of the battalion’s main strongholds have been captured by the IDF, but it is also tasked with the terror group’s main command center under Shifa Hospital, according to the military.
Meanwhile, the Daraj-Tuffah Battalion has also suffered heavy losses in IDF operations. The military says it has killed its entire senior command, including the battalion commander, his deputy and several company commanders, along with 260 operatives.