"The fighting in Gaza will continue for at least another seven months," said the head of the National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, in an interview with Kan on Wednesday.
Hangabi also noted that the IDF now controls 75% of the Philadelphia corridor, which is approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) long and located along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. He also said Israel would control the corridor over time and work with Egypt to prevent smuggling.
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi, Director-General of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF) (HaBithonistim), said in an extensive interview with Maariv that will be published in full on Friday that "The occupation of Rafah may lead to the beginning of a total collapse. The decisive battle will take place there, both military and security."
"That's why we have to enter it with planes, artillery, and tanks, and we must defeat it because we are in a decisive moment. If we destroy Rafah to the end and take responsibility for the humanitarian aid, we can end the war within two months."
Why didn't we enter Rafah earlier?
When asked why they did not enter Rafah at the beginning of the war at the same time as the occupation of Gaza when the world still supported Israel's right to defend itself?
"A day will come when the IDF will have to investigate the reason for this question. In my opinion, when we entered the northern Gaza Strip, most of the divisions were in the North for deterrence against Hezbollah. When it was understood that there would be no war with Lebanon, they began to move divisions south. At this point, there really is room to ask, if you have already launched an attack on Khan Yunis, why didn't you also attack Rafah?"
The armored combat team of the 7th Brigade, consisting of armored, engineering, and infantry battalions from the Paratroopers and Givati, is fighting in the heart of Jabalia.
In an attack by the combat team on a new area, the fighters raided dozens of rocket launching complexes, destroyed the launchers, and neutralized the complexes.
Soldiers of the engineering and armor battalions located many shafts, destroying them. Soldiers from the Rotem Battalion raided a combat compound near a mosque and located dozens of weapons, explosive charge components in suitcases, dozens of grenades, military equipment, and ammunition.
The 7th Brigade's combat team worked in close cooperation with the fighters of Unit 636, who identified armed terrorists near the forces and directed fire at them.
In one of the attacks, a terrorist armed with an RPG missile was identified by a team of 636 and later eliminated. Another terrorist who was in the area tried to harm the troops and was immediately eliminated as well.