As Hamas loses its grip over Gaza, terrorists — even those involved in the horrific atrocities of October 7 — are surrendering to the Israeli military, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed on Monday.
Since last weekend, Hamas terrorists have been seen crawling out of their tunnels and fortifications in large numbers and laying down their weapons before Israeli troops. Those mass surrenders continued on Tuesday as well, news reports indicate. Terrorists “continued to surrender in large numbers to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), though heavy fighting still takes place throughout the enclave,” the Israeli TV channel reported Tuesday.
The Jerusalem Post reported the defense minister’s remarks:
Many of the Hamas terrorists surrendering to the IDF were involved in the October 7 massacre, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Monday evening during a televised address.”Hamas is on the verge of dissolution, the IDF is taking over its last strongholds,” Gallant said.He added that Israel has no intention to maintain a permanent presence in the Gaza Strip.During his address, the defense minister spoke directly to Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar telling him either to surrender or face death on the battlefield.He said that Hamas terrorists in Jabalia and Shejaia are being brought down, though they had thought they were unbeatable.
Gaza residents, who were initially seen cheering Hamas’s mass killing and hostage-taking of innocent Israeli men, women, and children on October 7, are now cursing the Islamic terrorist group for bringing war and destruction to their doorsteps, videos posted on social media show.
The Israeli military is keeping pressure on jihadist strongholds in northern and southern Gaza, further degrading Hamas’s leadership and terrorist capabilities.
The IDF disclosed the latest military operations in a statement on Tuesday morning:
Over the past day, the IAF struck a number of launch posts used to fire rockets at Israelis across the country from inside the Gaza Strip. IDF troops in Jabalya identified a post launching rockets toward the city of Sderot. In response, the forces directed an aircraft that struck the launch post.IDF troops conducted a targeted raid on a Hamas compound and located approximately 250 rockets, shells, and RPGs that were ready for use, as well as other weapons and military equipment. IDF troops also struck a weapon production factory where they located hundreds of grenades, rockets, and M72 LAW rockets.
Media reports on Tuesday evening intricate that the Israeli military has started pumping the Hamas tunnels with seawater. According to Israeli estimates, the underground tunnel network is more than 300 miles long, and contains Hamas’s weapons depots, horded food supplies and fortified bunkers for its terrorist leadership.
The IDF succeeded in recovering the corpses of two Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, the Israeli media reports. The dead hostages were identified as Eden Zacharia and IDF First Sgt. Ziv Dado. Zacharia, a 27-year-old woman kidnapped at the rave festival, while Dado was apparently killed by the terrorists during the October 7 massacre and had his body dragged to Gaza.
The recovery of the bodies came at a painful price. Master Sgt. Gal Meir Eisenkot and Master Sgt. Eyal Meir Berkowitz, both on reservist duty, were killed while extracting the bodies deep inside the Hamas-controlled area. Gal was the son of former IDF chief and current member of the Israeli war cabinet, Gadi Eisenkot.
The Times of Israel reported Tuesday evening:
The IDF announces that it has recovered the bodies of Eden Zacharia and IDF Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.The operation to recover the bodies from the Gaza Strip was carried out by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504, and the 551st Brigade.Zacharia, 27, was taken hostage from the Supernova rave near Re’im, and Dado, 36, a logistics supervisor in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, was killed during the October 7 onslaught. Dado had until recently been declared a “fallen soldier held by a terror group.”After their bodies were brought back to Israel and identified by medical and rabbinical authorities, their families were notified.During the operation to recover the bodies, Master Sgt. (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot — the son of war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot — and Master Sgt. (res.) Eyal Meir Berkowitz were killed, and other soldiers were wounded.
The Israeli military continues to uncover how deeply Hamas has penetrated Gaza’s civilian population. Gaza homes were being used in large scale to hide heavy weapons and ammunition, IDF combing operations in liberated areas reveal. According to IDF officials, terrorist propaganda was found in almost every home.
Israeli broadcaster Arutz Sheva reported Tuesday:
Major (res.) Roy Yanovsky, head of the Channel 13 News investigative desk, on reserve duty with the 7007th Reserve Battalion in Gaza, posted pictures of the items he and other soldiers found in Gaza houses on his X account.”Things you find in Gaza homes:” Yanovsky wrote, starting a thread and noting that the most common items were RPG missiles and Kalashnikov rifles. “The supply is highly impressive,” he wrote.The second common item is explosive charges. “It’s hard to find a street without a house that has several ready-to-use, including vests, uniforms, and pretty impressive combat equipment,” he added.Yanovsky also found grad missiles in Gaza homes, as well as a calendar with a photo of Gilad Shalit in captivity and a book, “Battle Legacy,” about the attacks of the Second Intifada.Yanovsky added that they found, “A coloring book for children, that begins with a description of the Nakba, a ‘Map of Palestine’ with the monitored borders and no mention of Israel.” This “is found in almost every home,” he stressed.
As Hamas rule begins to crumble, the Biden White House is pressuring Israel to hand over complete control of Gaza to the PLO-run Palestinian Authority (PA), a body with a history of promoting, harboring, and financing terrorism.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is resisting Biden staffers’ pressure and does not intend to give up the security control of the jihadist-infested territory to another terror-infested Palestinian outfit after ousting Hamas, news reports suggest.
The British daily Telegraph reported Tuesday:
Israel and the US are at odds over how Gaza will be governed after the war, Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted.The Israeli prime minister thanked its ally for its support in its fight against Hamas and recovering hostages, but said their visions differed when it came to the future of Gaza.Mr Netanyahu, who has repeatedly ruled out a return of the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas, said that Gaza “will be neither Hamas-stan nor ‘Fatah-stan’.” Fatah is a reference to Mr Abbas’ faction.The US has repeatedly called for a return of the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority and the resumption of peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel.Mr Netanyahu recently suggested that Israel Defense Forces would maintain open-ended security control of Gaza after the war ends.
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