The Israeli military has significantly weakened Hamas in Rafah, eliminating around 550 fighters.

Over the past 40 days, the 162nd Division captured strategic areas, including the city’s eastern outskirts, the Brazil neighborhood, and the vital Philadelphi Route.

This advance revealed extensive weapon caches and over 200 tunnel entrances, with at least 25 long tunnels stretching to Egypt.

Despite these gains, the division suffered 22 casualties, including eight soldiers who died in an armored vehicle attack.

The operation has left two of Hamas’s four battalions in Rafah almost completely dismantled, with the remaining two significantly impaired.