Tel Aviv [Israel], January 15 (ANI/TPS): The Israel Defence Forces has eliminated more than 9,000 Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip during its ground offensive against Hamas, the military said on Sunday, citing data between October 7 and January 9. The IDF has also eliminated two out of Hamas‘ five brigade-level commanders, the army announced. In addition, 19 battalion-level commanders and 50 company commanders were killed.

Before Israel launched its war in retaliation for Hamas‘s Oct. 7 terror attacks on the northwestern Negev region, in which 1,200 people were brutally massacred, the terror organization comprised approximately 30,000 fighters, the IDF has said. Meanwhile, the number of hostages being held in Gaza is believed to be 136. Over the past three months, the Israeli military attacked some 30,000 terror targets in the coastal enclave, and ground forces detained 2,300 terror suspects in the Strip for interrogation.

Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza have launched approximately 9,000 rockets that reached the territory of the Jewish state, according to IDF data. Hundreds more rockets fell short inside the Strip. On the country’s northern borders, the IDF and Israeli Air Force have attacked roughly 750 targets in Syria and Lebanon since the start of the war. Some 2,000 rockets and missiles entered Israeli territory from Lebanon, in addition to about 30 projectiles launched from Syria.

The IDF said 522 soldiers have been killed since Oct. 7, of whom 188 were killed since the start of the ground operation in Gaza on Oct. 27. More than 2,500 troops have been wounded, including 388 who sustained severe wounds and 672 who were moderately injured.

Earlier on Sunday, Bituach Leumi, Israel’s social security administration, published comprehensive data on civilian casualties. According to the organization’s most recent data, 779 civilians have been murdered by terrorists since Hamas launched its surprise attacks, including 76 foreign nationals. More than 50,000 civilians have been injured, including 102 seriously and 171 moderately.

Bituach Leumi recognized 1,962 people as recurring victims of hostilities–people previously injured in terrorist acts who were again injured during the past 100 days of fighting. As Israel marked on Sunday 100 days since the Oct. 7 massacre, Hamas continued to launch rockets throughout the day, setting off air-raid sirens in Ashdod, Yavne, Kibbutz Sa’ad, Moshav Ben Zakai, Moshav Zimrat and Moshav Shuva. No casualties were reported.

Also on Sunday, Mira Ayalon, 76, and her son Barak Ayalon, 48, were killed in their home in Moshav Yuval in the Upper Galilee by two anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon. Barak Ayalon was a member of the community’s civilian emergency response team. (ANI/TPS)

Israel moves against Hamas student terror group

Tel Aviv [Israel], January 15 (ANI/TPS): Israeli security forces arrested 17 wanted Palestinian terror suspects in raids around Judea and Samaria, including nine associated with a Hamas student cell. As part of an initiative to thwart the activity of Hamas student terror cells at universities and colleges in Judea and Samaria, Israeli security forces operated in Al Najah University in Shechem (Nablus), where the suspects were hiding. The nine were detained for questioning.

Meanwhile, soldiers operating in the village of Zababdeh, near Jenin, seized hundreds of thousands of shekels intended for terror activities. In Qalqilya, Israeli security personnel destroyed two illegal homes of Hamas operatives – Bassem Daoud, a senior member of the terrorist organisation, and Saleh Daoud, who carried out two shooting attacks in 2015. Since October 7, approximately 2,600 terror suspects have been arrested in Judea and Samaria, of whom approximately 1,300 are affiliated with Hamas. (ANI/TPS)

‘We will defeat Hamas’: Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant

Tel Aviv [Israel], January 15 (ANI/TPS): Israel’s Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant held an operational situation assessment in the IDF‘s (Israel Defence Forces) Judea and Samaria Division, together with the Head of the IDF‘s Central Command Major General Yehuda Fox. Minister Gallant was briefed on counterterrorism activities in the area, and the troops’ operational efforts to secure roads and local communities. Minister Gallant commended the brigade commanders for their precise activities to eliminate terrorists while preventing harm to civilians.

Gallant told those gathered that Israel needs to see a strong Palestinian Authority that can govern forcibly saying, “a strong Palestinian Authority is an Israeli security interest.” “Hamas’ goal is to ‘ignite’ Judea and Samaria and, if possible, the Temple Mount as well,’ he warned, explaining that Hamas counts on the Iranians Hezbollah and “on the fact that they will exhaust Israeli society.” But, he added, “None of this is working for them – so what is left? To try and do something that will ignite Judea and Samaria and ignite the Temple Mount.”

“Our priority now is to win in Gaza, while defending Judea and Samaria and the northern arena.”
“We have decided that we will defeat Hamas,” declared Gallant. “We will not stop until we dismantle the capabilities of this organization, all over Gaza. We have declared war on Hamas in Judea and Samaria, in Lebanon – wherever it may be necessary.” (ANI/TPS)