Israel Presses Offensive in Khan Yunis as Netanyahu Vows ‘Complete Victory’

Jerusalem, 6 February, 2024 (TPS) -- The Israeli military pressed its offensive against Hamas in Khan Yunis and in raids in northern and central Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday morning.

Israeli Prime Minister vowed to continue fighting until the military achieved a “complete victory” on Monday.

“Our goal is a complete victory over Hamas,” Netanyahu said at a Likud faction meeting in the Knesset. “We will kill the Hamas leadership, so we must continue to operate in all areas in the Gaza Strip. We must not end the war before then. It will take time — months, not years.”

Most of the fighting took place in Khan Yunis. Khan Yunis is Gaza’s second largest city and is regarded as a personal stronghold of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The forces of Division 98 continued to fight in the west of Khan Yunis, clearing new spaces above and below the ground. Troops encountered armed Hamas terrorists in civilian clothes preparing to attack. Over the last day, Israeli forces eliminated dozens of terrorists and arrested about 80 terror suspects — including several who participated in the October 7 attacks.

Also in Khan Yunis, snipers of the combat team of the Givati Brigade eliminated more than 15 terrorists. Fighters of the 646th Brigade Combat Team identified and eliminated a Hamas squad observing soldiers from inside a building. During the raids, the paratroopers and members of the elite Egoz unit located weapons including grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, RPG missiles, explosive charges and cartridges.

In Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, an Israeli fighter jet guided by intelligence eliminated a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who participated in the massacre of civilians at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Of the kibbutz’s 400 residents, approximately one-quarter were killed or kidnapped that day.

In Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, Israeli soldiers called in a combat helicopter to eliminate four terrorists placing observation devices.

The IDF said that a combat team from the Nahal Brigade eliminated many terrorists in raids and ambushes during the last 24 hours. A missile ship detected a terror squad in the area where the combat team was operating. Most of the members of the terror squad were killed in a combination of strikes from drone aircraft, naval vessels and the brigade’s fighters.

Separately, the IDF’s 401st Divisional Combat Team eliminated over 15 terrorists in encounters and, in cooperation with the Air Force, destroyed a building used by terrorists to shoot at the troops and in which explosive devices were stored.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. The number of men, women, children and soldiers held captive in Gaza by Hamas is now believed to be 136.