Forces from the 98th Division, fighting in the Khan Younis area, have eliminated many terrorists in recent weeks and struck at above and below-ground terror infrastructure. As part of these activities, combat teams from the 4th Brigade and 55th Brigade eliminated many terrorists in the northern and eastern battalions of the Khan Younis Brigade and significantly damaged the command and control capabilities of the Hamas terror organization in the area.
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Among the infrastructure neutralized by the combat team of the 4th Brigade, a shaft leading to an underground passage hundreds of meters long was found, in which terrorists were present. With the destruction of the passage, five Nukhba terrorists surrendered themselves to a force from the 55th Brigade's combat team operating in the area. In questioning on the ground, the terrorists testified that as a result of underground attacks by 4th Brigade combat team fighters, many terrorists were killed including two platoon commanders in the northern and eastern battalions of the Khan Younis Brigade.
Video: Hamas terrorists surrender / Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
"On Oct. 7 we showed up even before receiving an order and fought in Gaza village for two days facing terrorists," said 55th Brigade Commander Col. Oded Ziman. "After we finished, we went up north for a month, where we conducted defensive and offensive activities. After a month, we went south and entered the ground maneuver in the southern Gaza Strip. The cooperation between the Israeli Air Force and ground forces is unprecedented, I as brigade commander have never dreamed of such good and quick cooperation. Just this morning I needed fire support, within two minutes a squadron mate connected with me and we activated a relevant missile together. The reservists left everything and came to fight for the home with a devotion I have never seen before, they are determined to keep moving forward as much as needed."
"The enemy is determined and tries to tail us," 4th Brigade commander Col. Mickey Sharvit said. "We encounter squads trying to harm us from an underground medium. There is no innocent infrastructure here, we encounter terror in almost every house, in hospitals and schools. Our forces even eliminated terrorists emerging from an underground passage in a school."
"Much of the intelligence guiding us comes from battlefield intelligence arising from friction on the ground. In one of the division's operations, we realized through friction that there is an area with terror shafts. After intelligence vetting, we operated in those shafts, and afterward it turned out that we had killed about 20 terrorists and a company commander. In addition, several terrorists were captured who provided significant intelligence during interrogation."
