The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) expanded their push into the outskirts of Deir al-Balah, a key city in central Gaza. The operation is one of several that the IDF is undertaking in Gaza as it continues to confront various Hamas threats and attacks by other terror groups.
For example, on August 25, Hamas launched a rocket aimed at the Israeli city of Rishon LeTsiyon, one of several recent attempts by the group to use long-range rockets to threaten central Israel. Improvised explosive devices have also taken a toll on IDF forces in several areas in recent weeks, killing and wounding soldiers.
The latest IDF operations in Gaza come as Israel faces continued threats from Iran, and public officials have emphasized a need to focus on Hezbollah and the northern front. On August 21, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited southern Gaza and said Hamas’ Rafah Brigade had been defeated after several months of fighting in Rafah. This followed a visit by IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi to the Philadelphi Corridor on August 14, where he warned Hamas that it would face “bitter” days ahead if it continued to hold Israeli hostages.
The IDF’s deployment in Gaza has continued along a familiar pattern. In southern Gaza’s Rafah, the 162nd Division leads operations even as officials believe Hamas is largely defeated in the city. Similarly, in Khan Younis, the 98th Division still operates against Hamas remnants after having defeated the terrorist group’s Khan Younis Brigade in four months of fighting that ended in April 2024. The 98th Division, which includes elements of the IDF’s Paratroopers Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade, has incrementally returned to different areas of Khan Younis since July 2024, entering and leaving several neighborhoods.
The 98th Division’s presence in Khan Younis enabled the IDF to respond quickly when Hamas launched a rocket at central Israel on August 25. The division pinpointed the launch site and directed a drone to carry out an airstrike in response.
The IDF’s 252nd Reserve Division is operating in central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, between Gaza City in the north and an area called the “central camps.” The IDF has been rotating units in and out of the Netzarim Corridor since November 2023, when Israeli forces first completed a rapid movement across Gaza and took control of the area. The IDF estimates that the 252nd Division, which includes the 16th Brigade, 10th Brigade, and 454th Brigade, eliminated over 200 terrorists in several months of fighting.
As the IDF expanded operations in central Gaza in August, it issued a number of evacuation orders. For instance, one order directed at the neighborhood of Qarara was issued on August 15. In addition, the 98th Division entered Hamad on August 18. This is at least the second time the same unit has cleared this area, which consists of a planned neighborhood and modern residential towers.
The IDF increasingly faces threats from booby-trapped buildings and improvised explosive devices. On August 17, the IDF announced that reservist Major Yotam Itzhak Peled, serving with the IDF’s Jerusalem Brigade, was killed by a bomb in the Netzarim Corridor. Another member of the same brigade was also killed while driving in the Zeitun neighborhood, an area the IDF has frequently cleared.
Israeli forces’ deployment in the Qarara neighborhood of Khan Younis enabled the 98th Division to move into the outskirts of Deir al-Balah. The city is one of four urban areas the IDF has not yet cleared of Hamas in 10 months of fighting. The other uncleared areas include Maghazai, Bureij, and Nuseirat, all of which include refugee camps founded in the 1950s that have often formed bases for terror groups.
“The troops of the 7th Brigade continue to expand operational activity on the outskirts of Deir al-Balah. In the past two weeks, the soldiers eliminated dozens of terrorists, and over 100 terror targets were struck in aerial operations in the southern Gaza Strip,” the IDF said on August 26. Israeli forces found a tunnel that stretched almost half a mile and located “munitions, anti-tank missiles, military vests, and knives stored next to a baby crib in a children’s room in a residential apartment,” according to the IDF.
