Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant announced Monday that Hamas has “lost control of Gaza,” marking a pivotal milestone in Israel’s effort to root out the terrorist organization
“There is no force of Hamas capable of stopping the IDF. The IDF is advancing to every point. The Hamas organization has lost control of Gaza. Terrorists are fleeing south. Civilians are looting Hamas bases. They have no confidence in the government,” Gallant said.
“We work according to tasks. We don’t have a stopwatch. We have goals. We will achieve our goals,” Gallant maintained despite mounting pressure from the international community to pull back its offensive.
The Defense Minister further noted that IDF military operations around Gaza City had “intensified” in recent days as the army took to clearing tunnels created by the Palestinian terror group nestled underneath civilian infrastructure. The escalation in fighting drew the White House to caution Israel to protect Al-Shifa Hospital, a medical facility in the Strip that the Jewish State has alleged doubles as a Hamas headquarters underground.
“It’s my hope and expectation that there will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital,” President Joe Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon. “The hospital must be protected.”
Gallant’s comments came shortly before IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari held a press briefing asserting that an Israeli special forces unit had obtained proof that Hamas militarized hospitals as part of its war strategy. “I just got back from Gaza, where I joined an operation inside the Rantisi Children’s Hospital. I went to the hospital with a video camera and personally documented more concrete evidence,” Hagari said during a press briefing later Monday.
“The concrete evidence is that Hamas uses hospitals as an instrument of war. Underneath the hospital, in the basement, we found the Hamas command and control center, suicide bomb vests, grenades, AK-47 assault rifles, explosive devices, RPGs, and other weapons, computers, money, et cetera. We also found signs that indicate that Hamas held hostages here.”
During Hagari’s presentation, he shared images of munitions, weapons, and other military hardware allegedly seized during the special-forces raid.
LIVE with IDF spokesperson exposing Hanas infrastructure https://t.co/DwjswumeSZ
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 13, 2023
“Additionally, we found evidence that Hamas terrorists came back from the massacre on October 7 to this hospital, among others, after butchering Israelis in their homes,” Hagai continued. “Hamas hides in hospitals. Today, we will expose this to the world.”
“Our war is against Hamas, not the people of Gaza. Especially not the sick, the women, and children,” Hagari said later. “Our war is against Hamas who uses them as human shields.”