As troops advance in south Gaza, IDF says it’s seeing cracks emerge in Hamas’s rule

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — As the Israel Defense Forces advance against Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip, some commanders believe they are beginning to see the terror group crack under the military pressure, though it is still far from a total collapse. Over the past three weeks, following the disintegration of the ceasefire, the IDF’s 36th Division captured the so-called Morag Corridor, a strip of land located between the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the Strip’s south, effectively cutting off Hamas’s Rafah Brigade from the rest of Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Division has been operating inside areas of Rafah, working to locate and eliminate dozens of terror operatives still in the area, according to IDF estimates. “The mission was to conquer all of Rafah and destroy all the terrorists here, and capture the entire territory of the Rafah Brigade,” Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, the commander of the Gaza Division, told reporters in Rafah’s Shaboura camp on Monday.

The remaining terror operatives in Rafah would be unable to flee, like many of their comrades did in earlier stages of the war, as they would now encounter the troops of the 36th Division holding the newly established Morag Corridor. As a result, the IDF believes that in the coming days of the operation, the rate of “friction” with the operatives in Rafah will increase. Still, Hamas operatives have largely avoided close-quarters combat with IDF troops, instead resorting to sniper attacks, RPG fire, and planting explosive devices.   (Read More)