From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 21, 2023
IDF has killed 2,000 Hamas operatives since truce ended on December 1 — spokesman
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says that since the end of the temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on December 1, the military has killed more than 2,000 Hamas operatives in strikes and during ground combat.
This brings the military’s estimates of Hamas fighters killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war to around 8,000. Another 1,000 Hamas terrorists were killed in Israel on October 7, during the terror group’s onslaught.
“We have increased the number of troops fighting in east Khan Younis, and we are fighting there with determination, with five infantry brigades, and combat engineers, with an emphasis on the underground fighting,” Hagari says in an evening press conference.
On the north, Hagari says, “Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon into a combat zone and continues to endanger the future of the entire state of Lebanon for Hamas and Iran.”
“We will continue to work to distance Hezbollah from the border,” he adds.
The Times of Israel Community.