MK Amit Halevi, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, responded strongly on Friday afternoon to the IDF's report that it was disbanding the Rafah Brigade of Hamas. Halevi claims that this report does not reflect reality and contains serious inaccuracies.
According to Halevi, "The IDF must stop lying to the public. The Rafah Brigade has not been disbanded as reported, and not a single Hamas battalion in Rafah has been disbanded. The Islamic Jihad battalions in the Rafah area also remained active and have not been disbanded."
Halevi added that every Hamas company and battalion in Rafah continues to function at a very high level, according to Hamas' combat theory, combining guerrilla warfare in small and lethal squads. He emphasized that most of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters have not been harmed, as well as most of the military personnel in Rafah.
MK Halevi criticized the organizational culture of the IDF, which he claims is broadcasting lies and unnecessary silence, which he says has contributed to the difficult security situation since October 7th. "This false representation is misleading the public and decision makers, and leading to incorrect conclusions, which is only pushing victory and security even further away from us."