Hamas losing control of Gaza Strip — Israeli defense minister

Hamas is losing control over the Gaza Strip, with its armed units sustaining losses, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant has said, Report informs via TASS.

"Hamas is losing control, sustaining losses and this is due to the resolute and strong actions by the Israel Defense Forces who are acting from the air, from the sea, and on the ground in coordination with intelligence. Our results are considerable, impressive and precise," he told a news conference.

The minister admitted that the army has to "pay the price" sustaining losses but Israel would not give up. "There is only one way to justify the victims and this is a victory. And the victory must be unequivocal and lead to the implementation of all our goals - the extermination of Hams, its complete disarmament and the return home of those kidnapped," he stressed.

According to Galant, Israel "is waging the most just war: and is fighting for the very possibility to exist. "That is why we will spare no effort, we will involve the whole society, the Israel Defense Forces to ensure that Hamas ceases to exist in the Gaza Strip as an organization. We will do this whatever it may take," he said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly.