IDF Dismantles Half of Hamas Terrorist Force in Rafah

Latest Developments​

Israeli troops have dismantled at least half of Hamas’s fighting force in Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on June 17. More than 500 terrorists have been killed as scores of tunnel shafts have been unearthed.

Briefing reporters, the IDF said the Rafah operation would continue “until we have decisively destroyed the Rafah Brigade” — a reference to the local Hamas force consisting of four battalions, which had been considered the Palestinian terrorist group’s last intact garrison after other areas of the Gaza Strip were overrun.

Israeli forces have mapped out 12.5 miles of tunnels in the city and located 130 access shafts, 100 of them along the nearby Gaza-Egypt border corridor, the IDF said. Dozens of shafts and two long stretches of tunnel have been destroyed. The IDF also said it has located “20 tunnels suspected of being smuggling tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai.”

Prior to the operation, Israel said Rafah was harboring not just its local Hamas brigade but also reinforcements who had fled south from elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, making for a total presence of as many as 8,000 terrorists. Israeli military commentators said many of those appear to have mingled among the civilians who have evacuated the city.

Since the Rafah operation began in early May, Israel has taken control over the strategically important Philadelphi Corridor, including the Brazil and NPK neighborhoods. Fighting has brought Hamas’s east and south battalions to the brink of defeat, while the north and west battalions are considered “somewhat degraded,” The Times of Israel reported.

Expert Analysis

“This vital — and now demonstrably achievable — counterterrorism sweep was held up for weeks due to public handwringing in Washington and increasingly aggressive exhortations from Cairo. Did Hamas use the delay to plan escape routes for its men — and possibly for the relocation of hostages, too? And will the Egyptians now come clean about the extent to which their Sinai territory has been used to arm and fund the Hamas fiefdom?” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“The greatest challenge Israel faces is not the remaining battalions or cells that are operating in Gaza but rather the corrosive effects of time. Hamas and its allies are wagering that international pressure will eventually persuade Israel to abandon its military gains and withdraw from Gaza, a strategy that has proven successful in past conflicts.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Eight IDF Troops Killed by Hamas Attack in Rafah

Eight Israeli troops were killed on June 15 by an explosion against their armored vehicle in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, the IDF said.

Soldiers from the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Brigade were part of a convoy moving through the Tal al-Sultan area before dawn when an explosion tore through their vehicle, triggering a chain reaction of munitions stored onboard. The attack marked one of Israel’s deadliest single-incident losses in the war. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

Related Analysis

“Eight IDF Troops Killed by Hamas Attack in Rafah,” FDD Flash Brief

“Seventeen Countries Urge Hamas to Accept Ceasefire Proposal,” FDD Flash Brief

“19,000 Rockets Launched at Israel Since Hamas’s October 7 Atrocities,” FDD Flash Brief