The Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi met with the commanders in Jabaliya who participated in the operation to evacuate the bodies of the four hostages and return them for burial in Israel.
Halevi repeated that military operation is a means of putting pressure on Hamas. “This pressure, we really hope, will also help bring back the hostages alive,” he said.
At the same time, he pointed out that the army is also ready for dangerous and complicated operations to return the bodies of the dead hostages.
"No matter how many explosives they put in the walls and how many shafts they booby-trapped, no place will withstand an offensive by an IDF combat team," he said.
The Chief of Staff also said that from the beginning, it was clear that the war in the Gaza Strip would take a long time. According to him, Hamas militants have been preparing for “defense” for many years, and it is impossible to dismantle the infrastructure of terror “in a week or a month.”
