In an interview with al-Jazeera, senior Hamas leader Mohammad Nazal denied Defense Minister Gallant’s claim that Hamas is seeking to replace Sinwar as leader in Gaza. He also tried to deny the surrender of terrorists and claimed that the IDF has not dismantled their ability to continue the fight in Gaza, which he claimed they are.
Nazal’s statement comes in response to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s statement in the wake of a situational assessment he conducted at Southern Command, per which “Hamas has no faith in its commanders, this is something very prominent. In addition, the Hamas-Gaza station is not answering, there is no one to talk to as leadership in the field and outside leadership is looking for an inside leadership. This means there is an auction as to who will run Gaza, no one is in control and no one is doing anything.”
Gallant also said that “the Khan Yunis brigade has been defeated and is not functioning as a military factor in any way. Hamas is left with margins in the camps, in central Gaza, and the Rafah brigade, and what stands between them and complete collapse as a military system is an IDF decision."
"There is no one to come to their rescue – there are no Iranians, there is no international aid. And what is coming to expression here is determination, persistence, and the IDF and national system," he added.
