Golani Brigade operates in the Gaza Strip
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The IDF eliminated Saturday Hamas's Sabra Tel al-Hawa Battalion, after a week and a half of intense battles led by the Golani Brigade.
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The Sabra Battalion of the terror organization is considered one of the four strongest battalions in Gaza City. According to Golani Brigade data, its troops, together with forces from the 7th Armored Brigade, undoubtedly killed about 300 terrorists. And approximately 150 more are estimated to be under the rubble of buildings or in destroyed tunnels.
The combat, which included extensive operational and intelligence efforts by the IDF and the Shin Bet, was deliberate and methodical over some ten days. It took place in several neighborhoods in the western and southern parts of Gaza City, where the Sabra Battalion had spread after its commander, Mustafa Dalul, was eliminated. Commanders of the brigades were either killed or injured during the battles and Israel's air raids.
Hamas's Sabra Battalion extended its presence along the neighborhoods bordering Salah al-Din Street from the border close to the sea, marking the terrorists' jurisdictional boundary stretching north along the coast to Ma'aganah. This covers a large area, approximately five kilometers in length and six kilometers in width.
The other three formidable battalions of Hamas in Gaza City are Shati, Sajeeya, and Daraj Tuffah. During the Golani Brigade's battle against Sabra, reinforcements from these three battalions were mobilized to assist Sabra.
Golani's seizure of Sabra's territory involved the destruction of thousands of various weapons, including anti-tank launchers, rockets, different types of firearms, sniper rifles, and some underground infrastructure. Hundreds of terrorists fled during the advanced stages of the battle, and now the Golani Brigade, which suffered significant casualties on the first day of the war with around 70 casualties in the incursion into Israel, is preparing for new ground missions.
"The command chain of the Sabra Battalion was disrupted after we hit them, affecting the territory," said an officer from the Golani Brigade to Ynet. "Most of the battalion's terrorists retreated or hid in a hospital."