Israeli Defense Minister Yaov Gallant announced a few minutes ago that Hamas has now lost control of Gaza and they are fleeing south.
The IDF has also just released a photo of their soldiers standing in Hamas’ legislative council building, making the point very clearly.
Here’s more from the Jerusalem Post:
“Hamas has lost control of Gaza – terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Monday.
After completing a situational assessment in which he emphasized the progress of IDF soldiers in fighting in Gaza.
“The IDF forces work according to a plan and carry out the missions with precision, lethality and in coordination between the air, sea and land forces, using precise intelligence,” the defense minister said.
“There is no power that Hamas has capable of stopping the IDF. The IDF is advancing to every point. Hamas has lost control of Gaza, terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases, they have no confidence in the government.”
IDF attacks have broken the effectiveness of 10 out of 24 Hamas battalions, says the military.
For the first time since the start of the war, the IDF on Monday provided its official estimates of the size and make-up of what Hamas’s forces were on the eve of the war which started on October 7.
In addition, the IDF gave its estimate of the impact it has had on Hamas’s forces through around five weeks of air strikes and two-and-a-half weeks of a ground invasion.
According to the IDF, Hamas started the war with 30,000 men who were split into five regional brigades, which themselves split into 24 battalions, which themselves split into 140 companies. Each battalion had around 1,000 plus men.
Troops from the IDF’s 188th Brigade eliminated a terrorist squad operating in the area of the Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, an IDF statement said on Monday, after an anti-tank missile was shot at IDF soldiers, damaging an Israeli tank.
Several terrorists hidden among civilians fired two RPG launchers at IDF soldiers in front of the hospital, the statement said. The combat brigade, which included armor, engineering, and infantry forces, responded with live fire and shelling, with air support. About 21 terrorists were killed, the IDF said, with no Israeli casualties.
Below is the photo of the IDF standing in Hamas’ Legislative Council building:
Israeli soldiers have taken over the Hamas Legislative Council building. pic.twitter.com/5o6zXoNdmF
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 13, 2023