Israel turns focus of Gaza attack to Rafah, minister says 10,000 Hamas fighters dead
- Israeli forces have dismantled the Hamas brigade in Gaza’s southern Khan Younis
- Defence minister vows forces will move on to Rafah and ‘kill every terrorist there’
Israel prepared to advance its war on Gaza farther south, close to the Egyptian border, after claiming to have dismantled Hamas in Khan Younis, as diplomatic efforts in pursuit of a ceasefire accelerated.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that success in the fight against the Palestinian militants in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where Israel launched a major ground attack last week, meant its forces could advance to Rafah on the enclave’s southern border.
The army says it has killed at least 2,000 Hamas militants in Khan Younis and destroyed a number of important tunnels in the militant group’s underground network.
“The Khan Younis Brigade boasted that it would stand strong against the Israeli military. Today it is dismantled,” Gallant told troops in Khan Younis. “We are completing the mission in Khan Younis and we will also reach Rafah and we will kill every terrorist there who tries to harm us.”
Gallant said Hamas is running out of weapons and ammunition and cannot take care of its wounded fighters.