Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced today that the IDF has officially defeated Hamas in the city of Khan Yunis. While some terrorists remain in the city and Israeli troops continue battling in close combat against Hamas cells, Gallant said the IDF has dealt "a blow that is eroding their ability to fight."
Before the war, Hamas had an estimated 30,000 operatives in its terrorist army. Today, the IDF has removed 22,500 Hamas terrorists from the battlefield (with 10,000 killed, another 10,000 wounded, and 2,500 arrested).
The defense minister vowed to continue dismantling Hamas further south in the city of Rafah, where Israeli officials believe senior Hamas leaders have likely fled with Israeli hostages. The densely populated city bordering Egypt poses another highly complex and dense battleground for Israeli troops.
Aid keeps flowing from Israel, while the U.N. keeps failing to distribute it
Another 247 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip yesterday by Israel. While the flow of aid has not stopped from the Israeli side, the U.N. and UNRWA – which are responsible for managing the aid on the Gaza side – have left a massive buildup of supplies uncollected and undistributed.
Today Israeli officials released the images below showing pallets of aid untouched in Gaza after being inspected and transferred by Israel through the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
Members of Congress demand Hamas free the hostages
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand delivered her tenth floor speech since the October 7 attack, telling the hostages’ stories and expressing their families’ pain. "But for every minute that I’ve stood here, the hostages and their families have lived lifetimes."
Congresswoman Michelle Steel held up a poster of 26-year-old Noa Argamani, whose mother is battling terminal cancer and hopes to see her daughter once more. Congressman Rudy Yakym shared the stories of twin 26-year-old brothers Ziv and Gali Berman, who are still enduring unspeakable horrors in Gaza. "It’s past time to bring Ziv and Gali home. It’s past time to bring them all home."
Click below to view a collection of recent congressional speeches calling to free all the hostages.
"Lay down your weapons" and "release every single hostage."
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield reaffirmed today that the onus is on Hamas for ending this war and freeing all the hostages.
"Hamas set this conflict in motion on October 7th when it carried out the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust," the ambassador said during a U.N. Security Council hearing. "It now has a choice. It can continue to dig tunnels, to plan for its next attack, to use civilians and civilian infrastructure as human shields, or Hamas can lay down its weapons and accept the proposal on the table to release every hostage."
"We all have an obligation to ensure that any action this Council takes in the coming days increases pressure on Hamas to make the right decision."
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