Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have completed military operations in Jabalia in northern Gaza. The IDF carried out an assault in Jabalia over the span of several weeks.
The IDF had previously claimed that Jabalia was in control of Hamas militants. IDF forces in Jabalia had received the bodies of seven hostages, and according to Al-Monitor, it was some of the fiercest fighting since the start of the war.
The Israeli offensive in Jabalia in northern Gaza saw over 200 airstrikes while targeting the last major known positioning of Hamas battalions. During the operation Israeli troops recovered the bodies of seven of the 250 hostages which Hamas-led militants abducted when they stormed over the border into Israel on Oct. 7 and killed around 1,200 people.
Despite the international backlash, Israeli forces have pushed deeper into southern Gaza and central Rafah. Protests have erupted among college campuses across the United States and Europe in objection to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
According to the New York Times, Israeli military personnel supported by tanks and artillery were operating in central Rafah as of May 29. IDF spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, has claimed they have established “operational control” over the border zone with Egypt, an eight-mile-long strip known as the Philadelphi Corridor that separates Egypt from Gaza.
Hagari described the area as a logistical “lifeline” for Hamas. Hamas uses the border to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip.
The Philadelphi Corridor is a buffer zone, about 100 meters wide, which runs along the Gaza side of the border with Egypt.
“The operation continues to gradually evolve, with forces focusing on uprooting Hamas terror infrastructure on the Philadelphi route as well as special forces that are conducting intelligence-based targeted raids from the outskirts of Central Rafah,” the IDF said in a statement.
Since entering Rafah, Israeli forces have reportedly found a multitude of Hamas tunnels and rocket launchers.
The IDF also claimed to have “eliminated hundreds of terrorists along the Philadelphi route and the outskirts of the urban areas of Rafah.”
According to CNN, Egypt has denied the existence of tunnels along its border with Gaza, claiming Israeli statements to be false. A “high-level” Egyptian source, accused Israel of using these allegations to justify continuing the operation in Rafah and prolonging the war.
The IDF claimed to have conducted air strikes on over 50 “terror targets” throughout the day of May 29. On the same day, three Israeli soldiers were killed and three others were critically injured in a booby-trapped building in Rafah, the IDF said.
Meanwhile, residents who returned to the northern Gaza town of Jabalia after fighting resided in the city said they were shocked by the level of ruin they witnessed after three weeks of an Israeli offensive in the dense urban environment.
“The destruction is indescribable,” said Mohammad Awais, who returned to his home in Jabalia with his family on May 31.
“Our minds aren’t able to comprehend what we’re seeing,” Awais said.
