The IDF's military operation in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip came as a surprise to the terrorists in the area, the military said on Monday.
“The surprise for Hamas was complete. We trapped hundreds of terrorists inside the camp, including senior operatives," the IDF said, adding that the terror group had used the population as human shields for over a week and had shot at the legs of residents who attempted to escape.
According to the IDF, the remaining terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip had gathered in Jabalya, prompting the military to encircle the area, evacuate the civilian population, isolate the terrorists, and prevent them from escaping.
Within hours, in a single night, the army surrounded the area.
Three brigades surrounded the camp: the 460th, Givati, and the 401st. The 460th Brigade, which reached schools and shelters, reported that this approach allowed them to evacuate five thousand residents. By the following day, twenty thousand more had left, and forces said that the residents' "fear barrier was broken."
The IDF stated that fifty thousand residents have left.
Approximately 60 terrorists surrendered in total, while hundreds of others were eliminated in the refugee camp.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last location from which Hamas was able to operate in Jabalya, was encircled by the 460th Brigade. This prevented Hamas from regrouping before the encirclement was completed.
Some 60 terrorists surrendered in one instance, and 20 others were eliminated while attempting to flee the hospital.
Troops from Shayetet 13 entered the hospital and captured an additional 60 terrorists who were hiding in the hospital wards and were using patients as human shields.
At least one detainee posed as a staff member and was found to have participated in the October 7 massacre.
The decision to operate in the hospital came as a result of intelligence, which showed that the hospital served as a Hamas command center, housing dozens of terrorists.
The IDF estimated that only a few hundred terrorists remain in the center of the refugee camp.
Currently, the IDF is closing in on the center of the camp, but the military said that, despite the fighting in the camp not being fully completed, "the story of Jabalya is no longer what it was just a few days ago."
'On the verge of breaking'
According to the IDF, Hamas's tactics in Jabalya include an increase in the use of explosives and guerrilla warfare.
“These are not the battalions and companies we saw at the beginning of the fighting a year ago. They are on the verge of breaking. Their combat capability is significantly lower. In the first round, we didn’t see 60 terrorists surrendering," the IDF said.
However, the full encirclement of the area is what trapped the terrorists, preventing them from escaping as they had in the past.
On Tuesday, the military said ground troops of the 162nd Division had eliminated dozens of terrorists in Jabalya and destroyed terror infrastructure.