Tel Aviv [Israel], December 12 (ANI): Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said that the war against Hamas in Gaza will end after Israel achieves its goals, The Times of Israel reported. He said that the Hamas’ Jabaliya and Shejaiya battalions in the northern Gaza Strip are on the “verge of being dismantled.” While addressing a press conference, Gallant said, “The war will end when its goals are achieved. I take into consideration everything the US asks and says, and take seriously, along with all the members of the cabinet, what America is doing.” He further said, “We will find a way to help the Americans help us.”

Asked about potential new hostage deal with Hamas, Gallant stated that he believes that there will be more offers for hostage deals if Israel increases military pressure, The Times of Israel reported. He said, “I believe that if we increase the military pressure, there will be offers for more hostage deals, and if there are offers, we will consider them.”

Gallant said that Israel forces have encircled the last strongholds of Hamas in Jabaliya and Shejaiya. He stated that hundreds of Hamas operatives have surrendered to Israeli troops in recent days, which he stresses “shows what is happening” to the terror group.

He said, “We have encircled the last strongholds of Hamas in Jabaliya and Shejaiya, the battalions that were considered invincible, that prepared for years to fight us, are on the verge of being dismantled.” Gallant said, “Whoever surrenders — his life is spared,” adding that among those who have been arrested by the IDF are terrorists who participated in the October 7 terror attack on Israeli communities. He added, “They are telling us very interesting things.”

He even warned Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, saying that his fate and that of “any other senior commander in Hamas, and the fate of the [low-ranking] terrorist is the same: surrender or die. There is no third option,” according to The Times of Israel report.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces and Shin Bet have announced that they have arrested more than 500 terror operatives in the Gaza Strip in the last month. The IDF‘s Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 and the security agency have taken these terror operatives for questioning.

According to the joint statement, more than 140 of the operatives have been arrested since the ceasefire ended on December 1. The IDF said, “The operatives were detained during battles in recent days by IDF troops. Some of them voluntarily surrendered and were taken by the field interrogators… for further investigation.”

The IDF said that some of the operatives were arrested while they were hiding in civilian buildings, including schools and shelters for civilians, The Times of Israel reported. Earlier on Monday, the IDF announced the deaths of seven more soldiers, taking the death toll of slain troops in Israel‘s ground offensive against Hamas to 104. Six of these deceased soldiers were killed while fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday. (ANI)

Israel approves USD 4.9 billion plan to rebuild Gaza-area communities

Tel Aviv [Israel], December 11 (ANI/TPS): Israel‘s Cabinet on Sunday approved the outline for a strategic multi-year plan to rebuild communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip. The plan constitutes a broad budgetary framework for five years (2024-2028) of up to 18 billion shekels (USD 4.9 billion) intended to lead to the rehabilitation of the region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “In the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip at the start of the war, we established the Tekuma Authority.” Tekuma is Hebrew for ‘revival’. “We provided a massive budget to rebuild the communities and to ensure that nobody will be left behind,” Netanyahu added.

The outline, formulated in cooperation with the local authorities and communities, is designed to lead to the renewal and development of the region with significant demographic growth.

Hamas terrorists attacked more than 20 towns and farming communities, killing 1,200 people on October 7. Around three-quarters of Israel‘s vegetables were grown in farms, kibbutzim and moshavim were devastated by the attack and subsequent rocket fire.

The Tekuma framework will make the region “a prosperous and attractive focus and magnet for economic resilience, quality education, investments, and advanced and innovative agriculture,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

With the framework’s approval, the Tekuma Authority will now produce a detailed multi-year, long-term roof plan to be published within 100 days. Netanyahu said that Israel will ensure that the cities, rural communities and various councils “will flourish and prosper for generations and surpass what was.

“We are committed to investing in education, employment, social services, assistance for evacuees, agriculture, businesses and every field,” he said. “I would like to commend all those who are engaged in this important work, which we will submit to the government today. The wheat is being sown in the kibbutzim in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip–and it will grow,” the prime minister said.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Hamas currently holds 137 men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners captive in Gaza. Some people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains. (ANI/TPS)

Over 100 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza war: IDF

Tel Aviv [Israel], December 11 (ANI): The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced the deaths of three more soldiers during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll of killed troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 104, The Times of Israel reported on Monday.
These soldiers were killed by an explosive device in the Khan Younis area. Another four soldiers were wounded in the incident, including one in serious condition.
Since the commencement of the ground invasion on October 27, approximately 600 IDF members have sustained injuries, according to information released by the IDF.

In parallel, the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah disclosed that, between October 7 and December 9, at least 17,700 Palestinians have died in Israeli attacks in Gaza. The ministry, citing sources from the Hamas-controlled enclave, highlighted that 70 per cent of the casualties comprised children, women, and the elderly, as reported by CNN.

Meanwhile, in a show of solidarity with Gaza, Lebanon implemented a nationwide closure of all government offices and public institutions on Monday. Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced the closure, stating it was in response to the global call for Gaza and in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and the Lebanese border villages.

The IDF on Monday said that they identified “a number of launches” from Lebanon toward Israel on Monday, with Israel’s air defences intercepting six launches. The IDF stated that it is striking the sources of the launches. This development follows the previous day’s incident where several Israeli soldiers were wounded in northern Israel due to fire from Lebanon, according to CNN.

Simultaneously, the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, reported that the southern city experienced “a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling on a number of areas” on Sunday, leading to increased pressure on hospitals in the region. Providing an update on Sunday’s military activities, Israel’s military announced that it targeted over 250 Hamas sites in the past 24 hours, including what it referred to as Hamas communication sites and tunnels.

The IDF had issued “an urgent appeal” on Saturday for civilians to evacuate from much of Khan Younis, though the extent of awareness among the population remains uncertain due to the limited availability of communications in Gaza, CNN reported. (ANI)