Defense Minister Yoav Galant made it clear in his statement this evening that a humanitarian pause in the fighting in Gaza is not on the agenda as long as abductees are held captive by Hamas.
"Lately, the words humanitarian pause have been heard. For me, a humanitarian pause is, first of all, our abductees – our women, children and the elderly – it's humanitarian. For me, it is first and foremost people who are in Gaza in the hands of human animals. Children like Abigail, who is there without her parents, it's humanitarian. There will be no humanitarian pause without the return of hostages," he said.
"A month has passed and we are determined to carry out our missions," he added, "We are with IDF forces in the heart of Gaza City. They stormed in divided coordination between the ground forces, the air and the sea, they rely on intelligence, and their target is one: terrorist infrastructure in Gaza – the terrorists, the bunkers, the communication rooms."
"Gaza is the greatest terror base ever built by man, because this city is a big base underground. There are communication rooms, accommodation – all in order to serve as a base of terror with which it is possible to harm Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers. We are eroding this capability, and our soldiers are operating in the heart of the built-up area."
"Yahya Sinwar, the same vile terrorist who a month ago made the murderous decision to attack Israeli civilians, the same Yahya Sinwar is hiding in his bunker, his chain of command is eroding."
"IDF forces operate with commanders leading the forces, battalion commanders, brigade commanders and of course company commanders, the chain of command - from the chief of staff to the last of the soldiers in the field."
"Today we saw thousands of Gazans leaving Gaza City and moving south towards Khan Yunis and Rafah - I call on all civilians in the Gaza Strip to move to the safe zone in the southern Gaza Strip, so that you will not be harmed."
"All our fighters remember what happened on the seventh of October, and today they are working to fulfill their mission to reach the last Hamas terrorists and bring about a different situation in the Gaza Strip. We will fight until victory and until the abductees return home."
"IDF forces are carrying out a determined and strong defense in the north of the country against Lebanon, the air force is ready at its bases for anything that will be required of it in any sector and especially against Hezbollah."
"As for the north," Minister Galant said, "we will discuss the matter when the time comes. We have no interest in waging war against Hezbollah. Yahya Sinwar made a mistake, dragging Hamas into war with the result being the destruction of Gaza. If Nasrallah makes a mistake, he will decide the fate of Lebanon."
"The IDF operates like a well-oiled machine and we act on your behalf, citizens of the State of Israel. We are going all the way to victory. The pressure on us will increase, I know that we will have to make leadership decisions, difficult decisions for me. It is impossible to stop this fighting until its goals are reached. In the war forced upon us, there is no stopping, there is only a step forward until victory."
In conclusion, he clarified: "We acted and talked together, and we will do so in the future as well. The War Cabinet is working closely and coordinatedly, and the results are evident on the ground."
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