The Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip has been going on for three weeks. The Israeli Defense Forces are now operating in the heart of Gaza City, striking all the targets they want. This was stated by the head of the Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, according to The Times of Israel.
As a result of the ground operation, "thousands of terrorists were killed, including high-ranking members of the Hamas leadership," the official emphasized.
"All the goals set by the security cabinet have been achieved, and as the prime minister said, this is just the beginning. We are determined to reach the end of the battle, and the end of the battle will be the end of Hamas. We will not stop until the entire military and leadership capacity of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad is destroyed," Hanegbi assured.
As a reminder, the Israeli military has established operational control over the port of Gaza City. It is stated that the port was taken under control by the soldiers of the 188th Armored Brigade and the 13th Flotilla (Shayetet 13).
On November 17, in the Sheikh Radwan area in the northern Gaza Strip, an IDF strike killed Khalid Abu Hilal, the "secretary general" of the Al-Ahrar organization. His son was killed along with him.
Al-Ahrar ("The Free"), which is called a terrorist organization in Israel, was created in the summer of 2007, shortly after Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in an armed coup. It included former Fatah security officers (including Abu Hilal) who did not recognize Mahmoud Abbas's authority and were close to the Hamas leadership.
Obviously, these officers contributed to the overthrow of Fatah's power in Gaza in June 2007. They also created a military wing of the organization - the "Al-Ansar Brigades" - which in fact became one of the units in the joint Hamas armed forces in Gaza."The al-Ansar Brigades were involved in many rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli territory. It is possible that their fighters participated in the October 7 attack on Israel.
Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 18/11/2023