Israel’s military will remain focused on Khan Younis: Spokesman

JERUSALEM - Israel’s military on Jan 29 said it will keep pressure on the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, which

for weeks has been the focus of its offensive.

It added that it has killed more than 2,000 Palestinian militants there.

Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari, the military’s spokesman, said Israeli forces have so far dismantled two of four Hamas battalions around the densely populated city, which operated above ground and from within underground tunnels that spanned dozens of kilometres.

“We are continuing the attack in the area of Khan Younis. We have more operational missions to dismantle the military frameworks of the rest of the Hamas battalions,” he told reporters.

“In all of Khan Younis, we have eliminated more than 2,000 terrorists above and beneath the ground. In addition, we destroyed significant underground infrastructure, in which we found facilities for holding hostages, command centres, weapons, production facilities and intelligence materials.”

Reuters could not verify any of the figures he provided.

Rear-Adm Hagari said that in the past week, more than 300 suspected militants there had been detained and taken for questioning. REUTERS