There is “no stagnation or standing still” in the campaign against Hamas and the IDF continues to apply military pressure on the terrorist group throughout Gaza, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday.
“What we are doing in Rafah is different from what you are doing here, and what you are doing here is different from what is happening right now in Shejaiya [in Gaza City], or in the mission along the corridor, or in the security area along the border,” Halevi told troops after a situational assessment held in the Netzarim Corridor that divides northern and southern Gaza.
The army chief continued, “What is the common denominator between these different places? The common denominator is determination. The common denominator is a very high-quality way of doing these things, and in the end, we go on the missions to destroy as much [terrorist] infrastructure as possible, to eliminate as many Hamas operatives as possible, to eliminate as many commanders as possible.”
Reducing Hamas’s terrorist capabilities allows the IDF to “move forward with the achievements,” including the return of the some 120 hostages still held captive by the terrorist group, Halevi stressed.
Israeli ground forces entered Gaza on Oct. 27 following weeks of airstrikes in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led cross-border attacks, in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, wounded thousands more, and abducted more than 250 men, women and children to Gaza.
Last month, Netanyahu said that with intense fighting in Gaza winding down, Jerusalem will deploy more troops to the northern border to defend against increasing Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon.
