Division 98 of the IDF, which was operating in the areas of Khan Yunis and Deir al Balah, has completed its divisional activity and will withdraw from there, the IDF announced on Friday afternoon.
This decision marks the third withdrawal of the IDF from Khan Yunis since the start of the war. Only eight days after concluding its second reinvasion on July 30, the IDF began this current round of invasion.
Since beginning the third reinvasion, the IDF has engaged in about a month of ground and underground maneuvers.
During that time, the forces eliminated over 250 terrorists and destroyed dozens of terror infrastructures.
Underground tunnels destroyed by the IDF during reinvasion of Khan Yunis (CREDIT: IDF SPOKESMAN UNIT)
Furthermore, six tunnels, which totaled to about six kilometers in length, were located and destroyed by the Yahalom Unit, along with combat teams from the 7th Armored Brigade and the Paratroopers Brigade.
Some of the tunnels contained terrorist hideouts, weapons, and terrorists who were neutralized.
What did the IDF do during its third reinvasion in the area?
Additionally, the combat teams of the 7th Brigade also discovered weapons, neutralized dozens of terrorists who ambushed them, and destroyed terror compounds, the IDF said.
The IDF added Battalion 77 raided a central Hamas outpost in the Deir al-Balah area, where they found weapons, a rocket launcher, and intelligence documents. They also located and destroyed an underground route that was part of the terrorists’ combat network in the area while working in collaboration with the Yahalom Unit.
Notably, the bodies of six hostages, Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Haim Perry, were rescued and returned to Israel during a joint operation of the Paratroopers Brigade with the Yahalom Unit.
Previous invasions of Khan Yunis
In early December, the IDF invaded Khan Yunis for the first time, fighting heavily with Hamas until achieving operational control in early February.
On April 7, the IDF withdrew from Khan Yunis for the first time, not to return until July 22 when it said that Hamas was trying to reconstitute itself, including having fired dozens of rockets into southern Israel.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
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