IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi gave a press conference after visiting the Gaza border. "We have been fighting for about four months and still must go further. War is changing its face. After a difficult and painful start, we changed it at a heavy price. We began to attack qualitatively and powerfully—and we will continue to do so until we achieve all the goals of the war," Halevi said.
He emphasized that in recent decades, no army in the world has had to operate in such densely populated territory as Gaza, simultaneously in the air and underground, like the IDF. "Unfortunately, this comes at a cost of lives. However, we are ready to defend our home. We are implementing the planned strategy, and at the moment, we have achieved more than we were going when we planned it," said Halevi. He pointed out that there is still Hamas activity in northern Gaza, so the army has to return there and strengthen control over the territory.
He clarified that the IDF continues to isolate the north of the Gaza sector to prevent civilians from mixing with terrorists and thus endangering themselves. "Most of the terrorists in the north are killed, infrastructure is destroyed, but rockets are still occasionally launched from there," he said.
"In the south of the sector, in Khan Younis, we have reached places that the enemy considered inaccessible to us," the Chief of Staff noted. According to him, all of Hamas's strategic assets are being destroyed in this "terrorist capital."
"To date, more than 10,000 terrorists have been eliminated, including commanders. This is the end of Hamas," Halevi said.
