The Israeli army announces the death of two soldiers and the injury of seven others in a helicopter crash in the southern Gaza Strip

The Israeli army announced on Wednesday that two soldiers were killed and seven others were injured in a military helicopter crash in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, during the evacuation of an injured soldier last night.

The statement said, “Last night, an air force helicopter crashed while it was transporting an injured soldier to receive medical treatment in a hospital”.

The Israeli army indicated, in its statement, that the helicopter “crashed in the Rafah area during its landing”.

The statement added, “After the initial investigation, it appears that the crash wasn’t caused by hostile fire… The investigation into the cause of the crash is still ongoing… There has been no change in the operational activities of the Air Force”.

He pointed out that “as a result of the helicopter crash, two Israeli soldiers were killed, and their families were informed, as their names haven’t yet been published and will be published later”.

The Israeli army statement continued, “As a result of the incident, seven other soldiers were injured with varying degrees of injury, and they were transferred to receive medical treatment in a hospital, and their families were notified”.

The Israeli army stated that after the incident, the Air Force Commander, Major General Tomer Bar, ordered the formation of an investigation committee into this matter to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

In addition, a senior Israeli army officer estimated on Wednesday that eliminating the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas would take another year.

The Israeli Army Radio reported that an officer in the Southern Command, whom it described as senior and only mentioned the first letter of his name, said, “It will take another year to neutralize Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities”.

The officer claimed that the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, suffered a fatal blow in all the brigades that were damaged to the point of disintegration, and today operate as a group of fighters who carry out guerrilla warfare as a major form of combat.

He pointed out, however, that “the ruling regime is alive, and it is possible to harm Hamas so that it will no longer be able to recover”.

He also claimed that “within a year, Hamas will be a weak body, the Israeli army will have complete freedom of action in the Strip, and there will be a significant decrease in the risks to settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip”.

He stressed that “the Southern Command has set an ambitious goal of zero rockets from Hamas, and we haven’t reached this situation yet, but we are on the way to this goal”.

Despite its relative decline, the Israeli army hasn’t been able to stop the launching of rockets from inside the Gaza Strip, despite the 12th month of its war against the besieged Strip for 18 years.

Regarding, Yahya Sinwar, the Israeli officer said, “He is alone, most of the leaders around him have been frustrated… He is running away and hiding, it’s only a matter of time before we reach him”.

On more than one occasion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set three goals for the war on the Strip, eliminating Hamas, releasing detainees in the Strip, and ensuring that Gaza doesn’t pose a threat to Tel Aviv’s security.

However, according to observers, he didn’t achieve any of these goals, while the war caused the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.