Posted on 02/29/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited northern Gaza today (Thursday) and commented on the IDF's readiness to engage in an operation in Hamas' last stronghold in Rafah.
“We are closing in on Hamas. We are preparing to act in Rafah, as well as in the central camps, in order to reach the next stage which we will decide according to our priorities,” Gallant said.
He added, “We use the information we captured from the Hamas archives. There are huge amounts of information that we brought from the places we reached, computers, hard drives, servers and other things. All this information is decoded, it is used in order to destroy the tunnels and the nerve centers of Hamas."
Gallant also said that "the network of tunnels that Hamas built is now being used by us in order to dismantle the organization. They thought it would be their places of escape, and the places where they would fight - little by little it is turning into traps. You close in from one location, and then from another, and he either fights or comes out. What we said comes to pass: surrender or death. There is no third option."
“The result is very clear," Gallant continued. "Hamas is getting weaker with each passing day, we are getting stronger. We will go and tighten the rope around the neck of Hamas until we eliminate it. This war will not be stopped until Hamas is dismantled as a system and eliminated as an organization."
He said that the "only matter" in which Israel is willing to make concessions is in order to secure the release of the hostages held by Hamas.