Wants to wear down opponents

Israel: “Have killed 900 terrorists in Rafah”

During their offensive in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli armed forces claim to have killed over 900 terrorists. "Among them at least one battalion commander, many company commanders and numerous fighters," said Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi on Tuesday during a visit to the troops at the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

"We are now concentrating on destroying the terrorist infrastructure, which will take time. It is a long operation, because we don't want to leave Rafah with an intact terrorist infrastructure," added Halevi. In the next phase, the Israeli armed forces will change their tactics, the Chief of General Staff announced.

Chief of General Staff: "Results will speak for themselves"
The aim is to wear down the enemy and complete the mission. "We need willpower, patience and perseverance, then the results will speak for themselves in the future," said the Chief of Staff.

Ground offensive could end soon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously held out the prospect that the last major combat units of the Islamist Hamas in the south of the Gaza Strip would soon be crushed. This could at least put an end to the large-scale ground offensive in the sealed-off coastal strip. However, this would not necessarily mean an end to the military operation. Netanyahu and senior military officials have already announced several times that Israeli troops would remain in strategic locations in the Gaza Strip even after the phase of intense fighting.