Yoav Gallant says that Israel’s military plans to press ahead with its offensive in the south until it takes “full reign” of the entire Gaza Strip.
During a news conference, he said the army in the north has “free rein for ground operations and they will continue in the coming months as well”.
Israel said weeks ago that it dismantled Hamas’s “military framework” in northern Gaza.
Gallant claimed that Israel has dismantled three-quarters of Hamas’s forces, and that half of the group’s fighters have either been killed or wounded.
He said Israel is focusing on the southern city of Khan Younis, where it has been locked in heavy fighting for weeks, and then will continue on to the town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, where some 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have sought refuge.
Gallant described Rafah as “the last stronghold of Hamas”.
