‘We are broken, our people don’t tolerate us anymore’
‘He wrote this to the Sinwar brothers; we will get to them as well,’ Gallant says.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed a document on Wednesday written by a now-deceased Hamas commander to Yahya Sinwar describing the “difficult situation” the military wing of the terror group was facing.
The former commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, Rafa’a Salameh, who was killed with Mohammed Deif in an airstrike in July, wrote to Sinwar, “We have lost 90-95% of our rocket capabilities, and we have lost some 60% of our weapons.”
The letter continued, “We have lost at least 65-70% of our anti-tank launchers and rockets, and most importantly, we have lost at least 50% of our fighters between those who are martyred and wounded, and now we are left with 25%. ”
Salameh added, “The last 25% of our people have reached a situation where the people do not tolerate them anymore, and they are broken on a mental or physical level.”
Gallant pointed out that the letter emphasizes that even Hamas’s most senior commanders have reached a breaking point.
The Defense Minister commented on how Salameh “cries out” the Sinwar brothers “but they, of course, cannot save him.”
“Why? Because we are continuing the effort that started in October and continues step by step… and reaches all senior Hamas officials. He wrote this to the Sinwar brothers; we will get to them as well,” Gallant says.
Salameh worked closely with Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, including the planning of the execution of the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and the 2005 suicide bombing at the Orkhan outpost.
There was initial doubt that the airstrike that killed Salameh in July also eliminated Deif, but the news of Deif’s death was later confirmed.
Yoav Gallant tweeted in August, “Muhammad Deif, the ‘Osama Bin Laden of Gaza,’ was eliminated on 13.07.24,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tweeted Thursday.
“This is a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza, and in the achievement of the goals of this war.”
PHOTO: Use according to Section 27 A