Gaza Strip - June 24, 2024

Last night (Sunday), the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, conducted a situational assessment in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip with the Commanding Officer of the Southern Command, MG Yaron Finkelman, the Commanding Officer of the 162nd Division, BG Itzik Cohen, battalion commanders, and additional commanders.

Attached are the full remarks of the Chief of the General Staff: "We have very high levels of achievements from the combat in Rafah, and I express great appreciation for that. This is reflected in the amount of terrorists that have been eliminated, as well as the infrastructure destroyed, the underground tunnel routes, its mapping, its destruction, and the progress in the complex underground combat. The fact that the 162nd Division now controls the Philadelphi Corridor from the sea to the border between Israel, Gaza, and Egypt, is very significant in cutting off Hamas' supply for future smuggling. We are now dealing with the underground assets. We are clearly approaching the point where we can say we have dismantled the Rafah Brigade, that it is defeated not in the sense that there are no more terrorists, but in the sense that it can no longer function as a fighting unit. It has suffered many casualties, and you will ensure until the completion of the mission here, to eliminate as many terrorists and destroy as much terrorist infrastructure as possible going forward. With great appreciation, what is happening here is very impressive professionally, keep it up."