JERUSALEM - The Israeli military announced on Thursday that it has "dismantled" Hamas' Rafah Brigade in the southern Gaza Strip.

The military stated that its troops killed more than 2,000 "militants" in Rafah, including Mahmoud Hamdan, commander of Hamas' Tel al-Sultan Battalion in the city.

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It added that its operations destroyed approximately 13 km of tunnels buried beneath Rafah and about 80 percent of the underground tunnel routes along the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.

Israel has launched since May a large-scale ground operation in Rafah, which was designated as a "safe zone" at the beginning of the Gaza conflict. During the operation, the troops seized control of the border with Egypt, sealed off the only evacuation route for civilians, and "dismantled the Rafah Brigade", the military said.

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Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.

The months-long Israeli offensive has led to 41,118 Palestinian deaths in the coastal enclave, according to Gaza-based health authorities on Thursday.