According to Nachal Brigade Commander Colonel Uri Gordon, Hamas is working hard to kidnap military personnel but has been unsuccessful to date. The colonel made his remarks on Tuesday 24 Tammuz in a briefing for the press covering the warfare in Gaza.

“Hamas is fighting with all its might and using all means at its disposal. The IDF has discovered most of the Hamas tunnels”.

The Nachal Brigade has been a part of the now five-day-old ground operation, primarily in the northern area. He added the IDF has delivered a significant blow to Hamas fighters and the organization’s infrastructure. He added his soldiers are working hard to uncover and destroy the tunnel infrastructure.

Gordon explained Hamas soldiers are no heroes, preferring to open fire from a distance, fearing close combat and using civilians as human shields against the IDF.

The IDF informed the media on Tuesday that it has uncovered 60 tunnel access points connecting to 23 tunnels.

Nachal has lost two soldiers in the fighting to date Eitan Barak of Herzliya and Oded Ben-Sira of Nir Etzion.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)