Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Thursday marked 1,000 days since the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, saying the military had rebounded from its darkest failure to achieve “unprecedented accomplishments” while warning troops to remain prepared for a rapid return to combat.
“Today marks 1,000 days since the outbreak of the longest war in our history,” Zamir said during the General Staff’s morning situational assessment.
“It is a war that began with a grave failure and the worst tragedy in the history of the State of Israel,” he said. “From that tragedy, we rose, recovered, and conducted a war that achieved unprecedented accomplishments in the history of the nation.”
Zamir said Iran remains the military’s primary strategic focus, while emphasizing that all operational fronts remain active despite a relative lull in fighting.
“We are currently in an interim period across all theaters of operation,” he said. “All arenas remain active at varying levels of intensity, and each is undergoing defining developments. The arenas are interconnected, and any action in one may affect the others.
“In every sector, we must remain vigilant and prepared for rapid escalation and for an immediate return to combat in order to deepen our achievements and secure victory.”
The IDF chief said the coming period should be used not only to maintain operational readiness but also to reduce the strain on troops after nearly three years of continuous fighting.
“Alongside maintaining our vigilance and continuing to thwart threats, we must take advantage of the coming period to reduce operational fatigue, care for our personnel, and improve operational readiness,” he said.
Calling soldiers and commanders Israel’s “most important resource,” Zamir said those serving in compulsory, career and reserve duty deserved to be the nation’s highest priority.
“It is fitting and proper that they be first in the order of priorities to receive the nation’s appreciation through its decisions and allocation of resources, by caring for them, their families, and their future,” he said.
On Friday, the IDF announced that it had struck a Hamas underground terrorist infrastructure site in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
According to the military, Hamas had been working in recent weeks to restore the underground facility in violation of the ceasefire. Israeli aircraft struck three separate targets within the tunnel complex to dismantle the infrastructure before it could be reused for terrorist activity.
The IDF said it continues to act against Hamas attempts to rebuild its military capabilities and underground tunnel network in breach of the ceasefire.
The chief of staff’s remarks came as the IDF continues operations across multiple fronts following the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, while maintaining heightened readiness against Iran and its regional proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
