Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir today (Tuesday) conducted a situation assessment and field tour in the Gaza Strip with Southern Command Commander Major General Yaniv Asor, Division 98 Commander Brigadier General Guy Levy, and other commanders.
In his statement, Zamir referred to the IDF's actions so far.
""Hamas has been defeated, but the campaign, unfortunately, is not yet complete. Several weeks ago, we launched Operation 'Strength and Sword' with the aim of creating better conditions for the return of our hostages, striking Hamas, and overwhelming it in the places where we operated. During the operation, we eliminated hundreds of terrorists, dismembered the Strip, captured the Morag Corridor, cleared the Rafah area, and expanded the buffer zone. In doing so, we strengthened the defense of our communities.".
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He added: "We are moving to the next stage. Hamas will pay the price for its refusal - it will encounter firepower, we will expand the maneuver, occupy additional territories, cleanse and destroy the terror infrastructure until it is defeated. We are defending ourselves and for that we must attack. We cannot defend ourselves only by defense without removing the threat from the other side of the border.".
Zamir addressed the families of the kidnapped: "I am aware of the concern and shock of the families of the kidnapped and the questions raised by the combination of targets. I and all IDF soldiers will continue to act tirelessly until all of our kidnapped are released. Hamas has one option, and that is to release our kidnapped. If there is an agreement, the IDF will know how to adjust its activities accordingly.".
Zamir also addressed the incomprehensible statement by Democratic Party Chairman Yair Golan: "The IDF constantly acts in accordance with IDF values, the law, and international law, while uncompromisingly safeguarding the security of the State of Israel and its citizens. Any statement that casts doubt on the value of our actions and the morality of our fighters is baseless.".
