IDF: Hamas has Lost Control of Gaza

"Hamas has lost control of Gaza - terrorists fleeing south, civilians looting Hamas bases", Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday night - five weeks after the terror attack. Soldiers from the Golan Brigade shared a historic photo showing them lifting the Israeli flag in the meeting room of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2007, and since then there have been no elections in the Gaza Strip.

"Our units operate according to plan and execute missions precisely, lethally and in coordination between air, sea and land forces, using precise intelligence," the defense minister added.

"There is no force with which Hamas can stop the Israeli army, it is advancing at all points. Hamas has lost control of Gaza, terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases, they have no confidence in their government." said Gallant.

Army strikes have crippled the effectiveness of 10 of Hamas' 24 battalions, the military says.

For the first time since the start of the war, they today provided their official estimates of the size and composition of Hamas forces ahead of the war, which began on October 7. As well as the effect on the Hamas forces of more than a month of airstrikes and two and a half weeks of ground operations.

According to the army, Hamas started the war with 30,000 men, who were divided into five regional brigades, which were made up of a total of 24 battalions or 140 companies. Each battalion had about 1,000 men.

Troops from the 188th Army Brigade have eliminated a terrorist group operating in the Al-Quds Hospital area of Gaza City, the military said in a statement on Monday. According to them, the explanation for the fighting there...