The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have defeated Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a trip to southern Gaza on August 21. Gallant visited with the IDF’s 162nd Division, which has led the fighting against Hamas in the areas of Rafah and the Egyptian border since it began operations in early May. It took three and a half months to defeat Hamas’s forces in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor.
Before the IDF’s offensive into Rafah, Hamas used its control of the border area to control humanitarian aid entering Gaza, also bolstering its strength over the years through smuggling. The IDF began ground operations against Hamas in October, two weeks after the group’s terrorist attack on October 7. Israeli forces’ initial forays focused on defeating Hamas in northern Gaza before shifting focus to Khan Younis in southern Gaza in December. Once the group was largely routed in Khan Younis, the IDF withdrew forces from the area in April and waited a month before going into Rafah.
It was believed prior to the Rafah operation that defeating Hamas’s brigade there was essential to defeating the larger group—by cutting it off from the Egyptian border and isolating its remaining fighters in central Gaza. “Israel also believes that many of the remaining 129 hostages kidnapped in the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities are being held in Rafah,” The Times of Israel noted in late April before the operation. However, hostages were not found in Rafah. It appears Hamas had moved some forces from Rafah back to Khan Younis.
More than 900 terrorists were eliminated in Rafah in several months of fighting, the IDF estimated in July. On his August 21 visit to Rafah, Gallant also said the IDF found and destroyed 150 tunnels in the area.
“Minister Gallant held an operational situation assessment together with senior IDF officials. He was briefed on the operational activity that enabled the defeat of the [Hamas] Rafah division and the destruction of over 150 tunnels in the area. Minister Gallant instructed the forces to concentrate efforts in the coming period on completing the destruction of remaining tunnels,” Gallant’s office noted. The defense minister also revealed that around 100 of the tunnels in Rafah were dug “using engineering tools above ground, and then covered with a meter or two of dirt.”
On the evening of August 22, Gallant spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, briefing Austin on the IDF’s achievements in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor.
“Minister Gallant emphasized the importance of ongoing operations to dismantle remaining terror infrastructure, eliminating terror operatives and destroying Hamas tunnels,” a statement from the Israeli defense minister’s office said. Gallant also discussed the ongoing hostage negotiations that have taken place between Israel, the US, Egypt, and Qatar. These talks have gone on for months but have not resulted in a ceasefire and hostage deal, despite reports that an agreement was close several times. “Minister Gallant reiterated his steadfast commitment to achieving an agreement, and highlighted the critical timing as it relates to ensuring this framework,” his office said.
As Gallant visited southern Gaza, the IDF continued to operate in Khan Younis and other areas of Gaza. The IDF called on civilians to leave areas in northern Gaza and Khan Younis. It also called on civilians to evacuate parts of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. On August 23, the IDF said it had eliminated dozens of terrorists and “dismantled dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites” in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.
Separately, Hamas continued to carry out attacks on Israel, launching two rockets towards Sderot, one of which was intercepted. In fighting in central Gaza, one Israeli soldier was killed, the IDF said on August 23. A total of 696 personnel from the Israeli security forces have been killed in the war since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023.
