Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held a situational assessment in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, where he praised soldiers and urged them “to intensify blows against Hamas and to decisively defeat the Gaza City brigade.”
Zamir said forces were carrying out “the most moral and important duty—the return of all the hostages and the dismantling of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.”
He conducted a field tour during the 98th Division’s operation in Gaza City and met with commanders on the ground as the next phase of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” began.
“The threat has changed, but so have we; we come better prepared. This is a move of decisive importance for the continuation of the war,” said Zamir.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that “Gaza is burning,” as the IDF confirmed that it had started broader operations to destroy Hamas terror infrastructure in Gaza City.
“The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure, and IDF soldiers fight with courage to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” Katz said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed in later on Tuesday, saying the military had launched “an intense operation” in Gaza.
Israel “is at a critical stage in this struggle,” Netanyahu said.
“Last night, the IDF expanded ground activity in Gaza City, marking the start of the new phase of the operation,” IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said in an English-language video briefing on Tuesday.
“Working together in coordinated and precise strikes, air, ground, and intelligence forces are targeting Hamas military targets that threaten Israel’s security,” Defrin said, calling Gaza City the “central hub of Hamas’ military and governing power” and “their main stronghold.”
“Hamas has turned Gaza City into the largest human shield in history,” he said. “Beneath the streets runs a vast network of tunnels, connecting command centers, rocket launchers, and weapons storage facilities—all deliberately hidden under civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Defrin emphasized the IDF’s calls for civilians to leave Gaza City for safer areas, noting the military’s expanded humanitarian efforts in recent weeks, including a humanitarian area in the south where civilians have access to food, water, medical care and shelter.
He accused Hamas of attempting to block the exit of Gaza City residents “to shield Hamas fighters and preserve its power.”
“Hamas continues to hold dozens of our hostages in inhumane conditions. Their safe return is at the forefront of our mission,” Defrin said. “They are the reason we continue our fight.”
“Our forces are acting with determination, guided by the clear moral duty to free our hostages and end Hamas’ rule of terror.”
The “large-scale ground maneuver” in Gaza City includes regular and reserve soldiers from the 98th, 162nd and 36th divisions, according to the IDF.
Over the past 24 hours, soldiers from the 98th Division operating on the ground entered Gaza City with air and sea fire support, in which “dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites were struck, including military structures, observation positions, and booby-trapped structures intended to harm the troops operating in the area.”
Soldiers of the Gaza Division are operating in the security zone opposite Israeli communities in the western Negev and are conducting “offensive activity in the Rafah and Khan Younis areas,” it stated. The 99th Division is operating in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the statement.
The latest operation in the Gaza Strip is “wide-ranging and intensified, and constitutes a direct continuation of the achievements made in ‘Operation Gideon’s Chariots,’ with the goal of attaining the war’s objectives for Gaza and deepening the gains made in the fighting.”
Over the past week, the Israeli Air Force struck more than 850 terror targets and hundreds of gunmen in Gaza City to damage Hamas’s infrastructure and prepare the area for the entry of ground forces.
