Minister of Defense: ‘IDF left Khan Yunis to prepare for action in Rafah’

During the situation assessment, the Minister was presented with the main points of the operational activity in Khan Yunis and the Shifa Hospital area, as well as the operational preparation for the dismantling of the Rafah Brigade.

Earlier, the Minister of Defense toured the war room, which was established for the operational coordination with international organizations, together with the US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew. The two received an overview from IDF representatives and observed the operations being carried out.

“I have now completed a situational assessment at the Southern Command, while the forces are on the way out of Khan Yunis. The achievements of the 98th Division and its units are extremely impressive – targeting terrorists, destroying enemy targets, warehouses, weapons, underground headquarters, communication rooms – all these were carried out in a very impressive manner, and Hamas has stopped functioning as a military organization throughout the Gaza Strip,” said Gallant.

He emphasized that “the forces are going out and preparing for their follow-up missions. We have seen examples of such missions in action in Shifa, and also for the follow-up mission in the Rafah area. We will reach a situation where Hamas does not control the Gaza Strip and does not function as a military framework that poses a risk to the citizens of the state of Israel.”