The IDF announced Monday that it has dismantled approximately half of Hamas’ fighting force in Rafah.

The IDF’s 162nd Division has been engaged in intense fighting in Rafah for over 40 days, gradually gaining control over key areas. The operation has been divided into three stages, with the first stage involving the capture of the city’s eastern outskirts and the border crossing with Egypt in early May.

The second stage saw the division take control of the Brazil neighborhood, while the third stage involved the capture of the entire Egypt-Gaza border, known as the Philadelphi Route, and the northwestern Tel Sultan neighborhood.

According to the IDF, at least 550 gunmen have been killed in the Rafah operation, with many more terror operatives killed in strikes against buildings and tunnels.

Additionally, an unknown number of terror operatives fled the area as the military began its offensive. The IDF has assessed that two of Hamas’ four battalions in Rafah, Yabna (South) and East Rafah, have been almost completely dismantled, while the capabilities of the other two, Shaboura (North) and Tel Sultan (West), have been significantly degraded.

The IDF has also discovered hundreds of rockets, including dozens of long-range projectiles aimed at central Israel, along the Philadelphi corridor. Furthermore, over 200 tunnel shafts have been located, leading to many underground routes. At least 25 “long” tunnels have been found, some of which likely cross into Sinai and were used by Hamas to smuggle weapons. The military is investigating these tunnels further.

The IDF has established “complete operational control” over the Brazil neighborhood and the NPK neighborhood of Rafah, near the Shaboura and Yabna camps. The latter neighborhood is considered a major Hamas stronghold, and the army claims to have killed dozens of gunmen inside tunnels there.

The 162nd Division has suffered relatively heavy losses during the fighting in Rafah, with 22 soldiers killed, including eight who died on Shabbos in a blast in an armored vehicle that came under attack.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)