Israeli Defense Minister: Hamas no longer exists as a military force

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that Hamas no longer exists as an organized military force and is now engaged only in “guerrilla warfare.” Gallant claims that Israeli forces are still fighting against individual pockets of Hamas fighters and are in the process of searching for the group’s leadership.

His statement comes after the Israeli military announced that an airstrike on a humanitarian area in Gaza killed three senior Hamas leaders. According to Hamas’s Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 19 people were killed in the attack on a tent camp.

If Gallant’s claims are accurate and Hamas’s military force has indeed been devastated, this could pave the way for a potential ceasefire, writes The Telegraph. Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long advocated for the destruction of Hamas as a key objective of the Gaza war, might seize this moment to end the conflict, thereby satisfying the demands of his hardline supporters in the government.

Gallant also told foreign journalists that the Israeli military has destroyed approximately 200 tunnels in the Rafah area and declared the defeat of Hamas’s brigade in that region.

The Israeli military confirmed that the airstrike killed Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’s air unit; Osama Tabesh, head of the observation and targeting department; and Ayman Mabhouh, another senior Hamas commander. All three were directly involved in the October 7 massacre, according to the Israeli military.

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