Hundreds of terrorists from northern Gaza and Gaza City had gathered in the Jabalya refugee camp, turning the local population into human shields and threatening them not to leave their homes or they would be harmed, according to a Walla report from Sunday.
Hundreds of Gazan civilians were evacuated from Jabalya on Monday morning despite continued threats from Hamas, KAN reported, as they headed toward shelters in the Khan Yunis area while IDF expanded its activity in the north.
In documentation from Gaza, Palestinians are seen raising a white flag and passing through checkpoints near IDF soldiers, who are handing out water to those who chose to leave the Jabaliya camp. The activity began two weeks ago, and the camp is occupied by the combat teams of the IDF's 401st and 460th brigades.
IDF Brig.-Gen. Itzik Cohen, commander of the military's 162nd Division, was assigned to secure the refugee camp by the Southern Command Chief, Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman.
The Strategy
Three weeks ago, the 162nd Division employed a strategic deception in its ground maneuver, swiftly advancing from two flanks simultaneously, surprising the militants and encircling Jabalya to prevent senior field commanders from escaping.
Since the start of the ground maneuver, the division has neutralized approximately 300 terrorists, most of them Hamas operatives but also members of the PIJ, in close-range engagements. Most of the clashes have been handled by infantry, armored, and engineering forces in urban areas, while some have been assisted by directing airstrikes.
The division's commander has praised the unique operations of the 215th Artillery Brigade, which includes precision strikes targeting terrorists using civilians as human shields, underground facilities, and sensitive sites to evade IDF fire. The artillery brigade has significantly aided the division forces in "peeling off" fortified positions by employing missiles and artillery fire to destroy combat zones and dismantle terrorist infrastructure.
In the past week, the third brigade combat team, led by Givati Brigade commander Colonel Liron Batito, joined the maneuver in Jabalya to intensify pressure on the terror strongholds.
Locating weapons
The 162nd Division has so far located numerous weapons, some of which were used by terrorists during the October 7 massacre. Additionally, many explosive devices have been discovered and destroyed by the IDF's Yahalom Unit in the field.
Beyond securing the concentration of terrorists in the heart of Jabalya, sources in Southern Command claim that the division's actions have the potential to secure large geographical areas in northern Gaza, dramatically diminishing Hamas's control.
Sources emphasized that their ground maneuver is only in its initial stages, yet it is already yielding dramatic results, such as the decision of hundreds of terrorists over the weekend to surrender and Palestinian civilians to move to shelters in southern Gaza. The sources further clarified that with their actions in Jabalya and the killing of hundreds of terrorists, Hamas will no longer be able to dominate humanitarian aid.
Jabalya last year
In October 2023, the Shin Bet successfully led a targeted elimination of Ibrahim Biari, the Hamas Battalion Commander for central Jabalya, who commanded Nukhba forces that carried out the massacre on October 7. Later, during the ground maneuver, the IDF struck terrorist infrastructure in the area, killing over a thousand Hamas terrorists. In the following months, terrorists from across northern Gaza gathered in the camp and began rebuilding the battalion’s infrastructure, which had been destroyed.
There is a concentration of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives, most of whom are hiding in shelters, the Walla report added, with it also saying that the proximity of these terrorists to Israel poses a serious issue. Most of the rocket fire from Gaza's north during the war originated from the Sheikh Zayed area, the report said.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.