IDF completes takeover of Jabaliya; Assessment: There are more hostages in northern Gaza

The IDF announced on Tuesday that the takeover of Jabaliya by Division 162, in the northern Gaza Strip, has been completed, and that Hamas’ operational systems in the neighborhood have been destroyed.

The IDF also reported that the command-and-control capabilities of Hamas’ northern division have been severely damaged. After gaining control of Palestine Square and the encirclement of Jabaliya, underground compounds, from which Hamas has been conducting the fighting and preparing for its attacks against Israel, were uncovered in the northern Strip.

Thanks to intelligence information, the IDF has successfully returned the bodies of hostages, which were held underground, from Gaza to Israel in the past week and a half. In one case, the rescue was carried out under fire from terrorists who were guarding the bodies. In one of the operations to release captives, based on intelligence information, the information was not accurate enough.

However, the soldiers insisted and the intelligence forces returned to scan a certain compound, where eventually the bodies were found and returned to Israel. The IDF believes there are still hostages alive in the northern Gaza Strip.

500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were taken for interrogation in Israel

In Jabaliya alone, a thousand terrorists were eliminated, and 3,500 men of fighting age were interrogated in the field. Among the detainees: 500 terrorists and Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives, who were taken captive to a detention facility in Israel. Seventy of them took part in the Simchat Torah massacre on Oct. 7, and others were involved in kidnappings.

The IDF destroyed the homes of about 60 and plans to finish the demolition of all the homes of the captured terrorists in the coming days. Investigators from Unit 504, who interrogated the terrorists, testified that they heard statements like, “Sinwar threw us under the bus, we will not die for him,” and: “We are ready to cooperate with you.” According to the IDF, every house in Jabaliya was connected to Hamas and weapons, such as guns, explosives and even RPG missiles were found in the homes where families and children lived.

The secret tunnel in Sinwar's house

The IDF reports that they were able to reach at least three homes of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip, in the Shati neighborhood and the center of Gaza City. One of the houses in Gaza City was fenced and netted with about 40 closed-circuit security cameras, mirrored windows and sealed curtains. A soldier who entered the house to conduct the search stepped on floor tiles sealed with a material that was different than the rest of the house and two doors of a tunnel opening were discovered using a hydraulic mechanism. The tunnel led to another area of the city, allowing the senior Hamas official to escape from his house.

The Daraj Tofach neighborhood, the last stronghold in the northern strip from which rockets are still being launched into Israeli territory, has not yet been contained. The IDF stated that the progress of the ground operation already proves that Hamas’ rocket-firing capability has been significantly damaged.

Northern Strip: Not yet the end of the story

During the operation carried out by Division 162, Hamas’ outpost 17 was captured and is expected to be destroyed in the coming days. At the outpost, IDF soldiers found documents that were used in the planning of the attack on Israel on Oct. 7: satellite photos; maps with dining rooms; kindergartens; and schools in the communities around the Gaza Strip. At the Hamas security quarters in Gaza, communication equipment was destroyed, severely impacting Hamas’ battalions in Gaza City.

However, the IDF clarifies that the soldiers are always prepared for encounters with terrorists, who are not necessarily affiliated with a specific organization and may emerge in the area and try to harm the IDF troops of their own accord.

During the attack on the Shati neighborhood, on the coastline, many weapons were found in booby-trapped homes, as four brigades participated in the hunt and capture of the neighborhood located northwest of Gaza City by the sea. The IDF reports that ground operations in the northern part of the Gaza Strip continue, and that more time is required to complete the objectives of the operation. According to military sources, there are constraints and successes, but there is still much work to be done, so the war will not end anytime soon unless the political echelon decides to stop it.