Gallant: IDF’s Rafah campaign choking Hamas by blocking crossing, destroying tunnels

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asserted during a visit to southern Gaza’s Rafah on Sunday that Hamas is unable to recover from the pressure applied by Israeli operations and, choked off from its weapons supply, is a broken force running out of time. His remarks came nine months into the war with the Palestinian terror group, as the Israel Defense Forces returned to some areas where it previously operated in order to confront a re-emergence of Hamas forces. Israeli officials say that the army has defeated all but four Hamas battalions in the Gaza Strip — two in Rafah, and two more in central Gaza. In a prelude to the Rafah offensive, the IDF captured the adjacent Rafah border crossing with Egypt and uncovered 25 smuggling tunnels along the boundary, believed key conduits Hamas used to smuggle weapons into the Strip. “The fighting here in Rafah signifies a very important thing. We are actually shutting off Hamas’s air — Rafah crossing, the tunnels,” Gallant said to troops. “The result is that they have no way of arming themselves, they have no way to equip themselves, they have no way to bring in reinforcements, they have no way to take care of their casualties, and we see this very well.” “Their fighting spirit is broken and time is not on their side; it is actually working against them,” Gallant continued. Gallant vowed the IDF will “continue and push until we reach a situation where we choke [Hamas’s] windpipe, and do not allow it to rebuild its strength. This is the goal of this operation.” In Rafah, the army said several terror operatives had been killed and tunnels were demolished over the past day.