Israeli forces have seized control of more than three-quarters of the Gaza Strip, killing over 2,000 terrorists and dismantling swaths of Hamas infrastructure since resuming ground operations five months ago, the military announced Wednesday.

The IDF reported striking 10,000 terror targets since March, including weapons depots, command centers, and underground networks. Five divisions are now operating across Gaza, dismantling tunnels and eliminating cells in what the army calls Operation Gideon’s Chariots.

One of the most consequential operations occurred May 13, when Israeli aircraft eliminated Mohammed Sinwar—brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and commander of the group’s “military wing”—alongside Rafah Brigade commander Mohammad Sabaneh and South Khan Yunis Battalion commander Mahdi Quara.

“The damage to Hamas’s command structure is unprecedented,” the IDF said, emphasizing that the movement is being reduced from a standing army to a “battered guerrilla force.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz authorized the mobilization of 60,000 reservists to pave the way for the next phase—an assault on Hamas’s last major stronghold, Gaza City. Another 20,000 soldiers already in service will have their terms extended to sustain the effort.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu urged commanders to “shorten the timeline” for Hamas’s defeat. “Together we will prevail,” his office said in a statement.

Troops are already operating on Gaza City’s outskirts in Zeitoun and Jabalia, with preliminary tunnel-clearing underway. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said forces recently uncovered a tunnel packed with weapons, underscoring the entrenched threat.

Ahead of the operation, Israel is preparing a mass evacuation of 800,000 to 1 million civilians to the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in Rafah. COGAT is expanding aid sites and field hospitals, with support from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who said plans are underway to double Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid centers from eight to 16.

“This approach will sever the population’s dependence on Hamas,” Defrin said.

On Wednesday, Kfir Brigade troops thwarted a major tunnel raid near Khan Yunis, killing nine terrorists and wounding several others after militants stormed a brigade post with rifles and RPGs. One Israeli soldier was seriously wounded in the clash.

Since the war began following Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel, 898 IDF soldiers have fallen. Yet the military insists Hamas’s power is being systematically dismantled.

Defrin pledged the upcoming Gaza City offensive would “deepen the damage to Hamas, both above and below ground, and strike at the last remnants of its terror rule.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)