IDF general says troops stepping up operations against remaining Hamas gunmen in north Gaza

The commander of the IDF’s 162nd Division says his forces are increasing their operations against remaining Hamas operatives and infrastructure in the northern Gaza Strip.

The IDF, after largely capturing northern Gaza and dismantling Hamas’s fighting force in the area, withdrew its troops and focused on smaller raids there as the intensive fighting moved to the southern part of the Strip.

The IDF has estimated there are several hundred Hamas operatives still in northern Gaza.

Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen says his division, “which has been fighting for over 100 days in Gaza, is increasing the pace of operations and the pressure on Hamas” members remaining in northern Gaza.

“The division is currently in the midst of an operation in the Shati [camp] area, against strategic Hamas targets above and below ground,” Cohen says.

Over the past week, the division’s Nahal Infantry Brigade and 401st Armored Brigade returned to operate in the central and northern parts of Gaza City, as well as the Shati Camp, where the military previously battled Hamas, the IDF says.

The IDF says the troops are raiding selected areas in northern Gaza and clearing it of Hamas operatives and infrastructure in an “in-depth and thorough manner.”

So far, the 162nd Division has killed hundreds of Hamas operatives and nabbed dozens more, as well as seized weapons during the raids, the IDF says.

Cohen says that at the beginning of the IDF’s ground offensive, three divisions were needed to reach the center of Gaza City, “and it took us three days.”

He says that now, just two brigades and additional forces under their command are needed to reach the same area “within an hour and a half.”

“The forces under the division are preventing Hamas from restoring its capabilities, eliminating hundreds of terrorists and arresting dozens of other terrorists,” Cohen adds.