Jerusalem, July 2: Israel is in “the final stage” of eliminating Hamas armed force in the Gaza Strip, announced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We are advancing towards the completion of the elimination of Hamas," Netanyahu said on Monday during a meeting with cadets from Israel’s National Security College, according to a statement released by his office and reported by Xinhua news agency.
Netanyahu’s statement came a day after he toured the Gaza division and held a security assessment meeting with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and the army’s senior command, focusing on Israel’s nine-month-long offensive in Gaza, particularly the fighting in Rafah and the ongoing military pressure on Hamas.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces ordered a mass evacuation of civilians from eastern Khan Younis, indicating that ground forces might soon resume their offensives in the southern Gazan city to combat Hamas forces that have regrouped in the area.
Israel completed a large-scale attack in Khan Younis in early April and subsequently withdrew most of its forces.
