The IDF’s operation to dismantle Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza could take at least six more months, IDF officials told Ynet on Sunday, as they work to clear the area of terrorists and secure the region. Key progress has been made in Jabaliya, a major Hamas stronghold just 2.5 miles from Gaza City, where Israeli forces have taken control, allowing civilians to evacuate and cutting off the area from further infiltration.

To prevent terrorists from escaping among civilians, Israeli forces have employed facial recognition technology at checkpoints, identifying and detaining around 600 suspected Hamas operatives to date. Tens of thousands of civilians have left Jabaliya, but some still remain, prompting the IDF to increase artillery use as it moves to eliminate hundreds of remaining terrorists in the area.

The operation forms part of a strategic military plan, initially aimed at restricting humanitarian aid to weaken Hamas’s control. “In the first week of the assault, Jabaliya was surrounded while the military urged civilians to leave,” wrote Ynet military correspondent Yoav Zitun, explaining that international pressure later led to aid being allowed back in. Despite these challenges, the IDF has continued efforts to capture or eliminate Hamas operatives in the city.

“We found an exhausted population, hungry and weak, arriving at our gates of passage, and without civilians, Hamas cannot exist,” IDF officials said.

Interrogations of captured terrorists have reportedly yielded useful intelligence on Hamas’s weapon storage and explosive placements.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)