Israel Says Hamas 'Military Framework' in North Gaza Dismantled

A smoke rises following an explosion in Central Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, January 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
A smoke rises following an explosion in Central Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, January 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
TT

Israel Says Hamas 'Military Framework' in North Gaza Dismantled

A smoke rises following an explosion in Central Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, January 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
A smoke rises following an explosion in Central Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, January 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli forces have completed dismantling Hamas' "military framework" in northern Gaza and killed around 8,000 fighters in that area, a military spokesperson said on Saturday.

The military has also seized tens of thousands of weapons in that area and millions of documents, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in an online briefing. "We are now focused on dismantling Hamas in the center of and south of the (Gaza) strip."

In recent weeks, Israel has been scaling back its military assault in northern Gaza and pressing its offensive in the territory's south, where most of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians are being squeezed into smaller areas in a humanitarian disaster while being pounded by Israeli airstrikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video statement reiterated that “the war must not be stopped” until the objectives of eliminating Hamas, getting Israel's hostages returned and ensuring that Gaza won't be a threat to Israel are met.



Israel Fired at Vehicles Belonging to Syria's New Military, Killing 3

An Israeli soldier mans a machine gun atop a military vehicle as they leave the buffer zone on the border between Israel and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, 20 December 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
An Israeli soldier mans a machine gun atop a military vehicle as they leave the buffer zone on the border between Israel and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, 20 December 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
TT

Israel Fired at Vehicles Belonging to Syria's New Military, Killing 3

An Israeli soldier mans a machine gun atop a military vehicle as they leave the buffer zone on the border between Israel and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, 20 December 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
An Israeli soldier mans a machine gun atop a military vehicle as they leave the buffer zone on the border between Israel and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, 20 December 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

The Israeli army said it fired at vehicles in Syria loaded with weapons near a buffer zone established under a 1974 agreement between Syria and Israel.
The strike in the town of Ghadir al-Bustan in Quneitra province killed three people, including two members of Syria's Military Operations Administration, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Military Operations Administration is run Syria’s de facto leadership under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which did not comment on the attack. The attack coincided with Syrian security operations to search homes for weapons, according to the war monitor.
The Israeli military said they located vehicles carrying weapons and “fired a warning shot adjacent to the vehicles, and the vehicles drove away from the area.” Asked about casualties, the Israeli military said it had no information, reported The Associated Press.
Israeli forces captured the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights following former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s fall last month. The military has been also conducting incursions outside the buffer zone, prompting local protests.