JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel announced Sunday it has pulled a key division out of the southern Gaza Strip. It’s a major shift in the war, as Israelis commemorate six months after the October 7th massacre and kidnappings.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the pullout is a sign of the beating Hamas has taken at this stage of the war.
“Hamas has ceased to function as a military organization throughout the Gaza Strip,” Gallant said.
Yet, within an hour, Hamas terrorists were firing rockets at seven Israeli communities from the area Israel’s military had just left.
Still, as the fighting reaches the half-year mark, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees the elimination of Hamas just ahead.
“We are marking today six months of war. The achievements of the war are great. We eliminated 19 out of 24 Hamas battalions, including senior commanders. We killed, wounded, or captured a significant number of Hamas terrorists,” Netanyahu said.
He added, “We cleared Shifa, as well as many other terrorist headquarters, we destroyed rocket manufacturing plants, war rooms, weapons and ammunition caches and we continue to systematically destroy the underground (tunnels). We are a step away from victory.”
Former IDF International Spokesman Jonathan Conricus told CBN News there
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