{"id":633932,"date":"2026-10-02T06:04:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/633932\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T06:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:04:23","slug":"idf-controls-63-of-gaza-has-built-nearly-40-posts-division-commander-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/633932\/","title":{"rendered":"IDF controls 63% of Gaza, has built nearly 40 posts, division commander says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three years into the war in Gaza, the IDF is deepening its operational pressure and control in the coastal strip. In an IDF podcast, Gaza Division commander Brig. Gen. Liron Batito, who commanded the Givati Brigade on Oct. 7, 2023, gave an extensive overview of the military\u2019s control of the Strip, targeted killings of senior Hamas figures, the complex dilemmas surrounding the hostages and the recovery of communities near the Gaza border.<\/p>\n

According to Batito, the defensive concept along the Gaza border has undergone a fundamental change, and the military now maintains extensive control inside the territory. \u201cThe Gaza Division is currently in a situation where we control 63% of the territory<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have established nearly 40 new outposts, and that gives us a very significant advantage. The defense is now forward-based \u2014 the communities are behind us, and before anything else, IDF soldiers are positioned up front.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch: Elimination of Hamas’ Northern Gaza Brigade commander<\/p>\n

(Video: IDF Spokesperson’s unit)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Batito emphasized the military\u2019s freedom of action and its continued efforts to disrupt Hamas\u2019 supply and operational networks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur control of the crossings is such that Hamas can no longer bring in what it used to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe carry out a great many operations to strip it of capabilities, strike operatives, seize weapons and, perhaps most importantly, preserve operational freedom of action. In addition, we are drilling throughout the entire Strip to map and locate underground infrastructure. Even though we have already achieved a very significant result and destroyed almost all of the underground network, we continue to drill every few meters, go deep and use technological means. Hamas is in a very, very difficult situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u05de\u05e4\u05e7\u05d3<\/a>\"\u05de\u05e4\u05e7\u05d3<\/p>\n

Gaza Division Commander, Brigadier General Liron Batito, at his inauguration ceremony in February <\/p>\n

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)<\/p>\n

As part of the effort to strike Hamas\u2019 chain of command, Batito said the military has come close to eliminating the leadership of its military wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look objectively at three years of fighting, we have eliminated all the heads of the military wing \u2014 all the brigade commanders and most of the battalion commanders,\u201d he said. \u201cJust in the past week, we eliminated two brigade commanders \u2014 the Rafah Brigade commander<\/a> and the Khan Younis Brigade commander \u2014 and they are already the second and third generation of commanders to be eliminated.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September alone, about 70 terrorists were killed, including three brigade commanders, two battalion commanders and nine company commanders. Among those killed were 17 \u201cNILI terrorists\u201d who were involved in the raid into Israel, holding hostages captive and abducting civilians into the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

Elimination of the terrorist who kidnapped Noa Argamani<\/p>\n

(Photo: Gideonim Unit 33 from Lahav 433)<\/p>\n

Also killed were Saher Nidal Lutfi Saqr,<\/a> the motorcycle driver who abducted Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or from the Nova music festival, and Ismail Ibrahim Darwish Qandil, who took part in the raid and in the killing of Nahal Brigade commander Col. Yonatan Steinberg.<\/p>\n

The IDF said that \u201cthe series of eliminations is the result of prolonged intelligence and operational work that matured into several opportunities within a short period of time. Some of the operatives and commanders hide in tunnels and blend into densely populated areas, and therefore prolonged surveillance is sometimes required to achieve a high degree of certainty regarding their identity and location, and to create the conditions that allow for a precise strike while minimizing harm to uninvolved civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IDF also said Hamas is no longer the military and governing organization it was on the eve of Oct. 6, 2023. Its organic battalion structure has been dismantled, its senior command chain severely damaged and many core infrastructure assets destroyed. At the same time, the terrorist organization continues its efforts to rebuild and rearm, while continuing to recruit operatives from among Gaza\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

\"\u05de\u05e4\u05e2\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05ea<\/a>\"\u05de\u05e4\u05e2\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05ea<\/p>\n

IDF forces in Gaza <\/p>\n

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)<\/p>\n

During September, Southern Command operations focused on targeted strikes against figures involved in force buildup, attacks on concealed command posts and the neutralization of Hamas civilian-security control centers intended to tighten its grip on the population \u2014 all while troops continue to face enormous complexity in combat on the ground.<\/p>\n

Batito also recalled one particularly dramatic moment from the beginning of the war, involving the reality in which the IDF was fighting while Israeli hostages were being held in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cToward the end of the first month of the war, we were at a location where we knew a family of living hostages was being held,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were preparing to rescue them, day after day, but they weren\u2019t coming out. I prayed they would come out so we could create an opportunity and pull them out.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-four hours before the first deal, in one of the hardest decisions, we decided to leave the area. If we had acted there, we would have endangered them. At first I did not believe we would manage to bring everyone back during a period like this, but the fact that we succeeded in bringing them home is an incredible achievement and part of what makes us unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside the military data, Batito pointed to what he described as an unprecedented recovery by communities along the confrontation line.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredible. Ninety percent of the Gaza border residents who were here on October 7 have returned to live here,\u201d he said. \u201cMore than that, every kibbutz and many of the moshavim are expanding, and new people are coming to live here. People are coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Batito stressed that alongside the renewed growth, responsibility for the failure and the trauma remain deeply ingrained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no point in avoiding it. There was a failure here, and there is trauma here that must be remembered,\u201d he said. \u201cI often drive on the roads and every so often stop at a memorial, at the Nova site, and take a walk by myself. Just to walk around, look at the faces and remember what happened here.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is something that also keeps you alert, keeps you on edge. Memory is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three years into the war in Gaza, the IDF is deepening its operational pressure and control in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-633932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}