The defense minister also said that the IDF has dismantled most of the terror group's 24 battalions.
Israeli forces have killed or wounded 60% of Hamas’s combatants since the war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Gallant also revealed that the IDF had broken up a majority of the Al-Qassam Brigades’ 24 battalions entrenched across the coastal enclave. (The Al-Qassam Brigades is Hamas’s so-called “military” wing.)
“The action of the IDF that has so far led to the elimination of over 14,000 terrorists and the collapse of the military frameworks of Hamas is, in fact, the testimony of what I am saying—everything will be done in accordance with the law and in accordance with the operational need,” Gallant said.
Israel’s air force began pounding Hamas targets immediately after the terrorist group led the bloody invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, killing, wounding and kidnapping thousands, while committing widespread atrocities. IDF ground troops entered Gaza on Oct. 27 and are continuing operational activities across the territory.
The goals as set forth by the War Cabinet at the start of the war and which remain in place are to dismantle Hamas as a military and governing entity in Gaza, return the hostages and ensure that Gaza can never again threaten Israel.
Image - JNS/ Ariel Hermoni/IMoD