Israel Will ‘Address’ Remaining Hamas Forces in Rafah ‘Soon,’ Defense Chief Says

Hamas has stopped functioning as a military organization, and Israel will eliminate the Palestinian terrorist group’s remaining forces in the Gazan city of Rafah “soon,” according to the Jewish’s state’s defense chief.

“Hamas has ceased to function as a military organization in most parts of the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told an Israeli parliamentary committee on Tuesday, according to a statement from his office.

“Their commanders are hiding in tunnels, they have lost command and control capabilities, [and] the battalion frameworks in most parts of the strip have ceased to function,” Gallant added in comments briefing members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the war in Gaza. “The Hamas brigade in Rafah, however, is still standing, with its four battalions. We will address this soon.”

Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the terrorist group since 2007. The United States has been pressuring Israel not to move forward with full-scale military operation in the southern Gazan city, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that “we are determined to do this.” Experts recently told The Algemeiner that Israel must operate in Rafah if it wishes to achieve its war objective of eliminating the threat posed by Hamas.

Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza began after an Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas terrorists breached the Israeli border to murder 1,200 people and take 253 hostages.

According to Gallant, continuing to apply military pressure on Hamas is the best way to ensure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza amid ongoing negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the US to reach a ceasefire agreement.

“Military pressure was and remains the main and most significant element in ensuring the return of the hostages,” he told Israeli lawmakers. “The advanced stage we have reached in dismantling Hamas and the information that we have gained from terrorists empower us at the negotiation table and enable us to make difficult decisions. I am committed to returning all the hostages to their homes.”

Beyond neighboring Gaza, Gallant explained that Israel is conducting operations “all over the Middle East” against its enemies.

“We are currently in a multi-front war — we see evidence of this every day, including over the last few days,” he said. “We operate everywhere, every day, in order to prevent our enemies from gaining strength and in order to make it clear to anyone who threatens us — all over the Middle East — that the price for such action will be a big one.”

Gallant’s comments came one day after an airstrike killed two top Iranian generals and five other military advisers at Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus, Syria. Iranian officials blamed Israel for the attack, vowing revenge. However, Israel has not declared responsibility for the strike, with an Israeli military spokesperson saying, “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media.”

Iran is the chief foreign backer of Hamas, providing the terrorist group with arms, funding, and training.