After completing its mission in the city of Khan Younis, the Israeli army will target Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The population of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, has multiplied rapidly as Gazans fled there following Israeli bombing of northern cities, according to the United Nations.
“We are fulfilling our missions in Khan Younis and we will also reach Rafah and eliminate the terrorist elements that threaten us,” Gallant said Thursday.
“This war requires resilience and national determination and we must persevere until we complete our missions,” he said, according to a ministry statement.
So far, Israeli forces have eliminated about 10,000 Hamas fighters and another 10,000 have been wounded, Gallant said. CNN cannot independently confirm those figures.
Two weeks ago, the Israel Defense Forces estimated that they had killed about 9,000 Hamas fighters since the start of their war against Hamas following the group's Oct. 7 attack. attacks against Israel.
The UN said Thursday that more than 1.4 million Gazans “are already overcrowded” in the Rafah governorate.
