IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy met today (Sunday) with the mayors and local councils in the Gaza envelope and in the south in the city of Ashkelon. "We were surprised by both the scope and the intensity and the cruelty," the chief of staff said, "We are determined to complete the mission and destroy Hamas. We're going all the way."
Halevy promised the heads of the local authorities that the IDF would do everything possible to restore security to the area. "The IDF is deeply committed to the communities in the south and the envelope, and we will do everything to restore security and prosperity in the region. For years, the IDF has been working in great partnership with the local leadership that has led this region forward, and we believe in you very much."
Statement by IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy // Photo: Moshe Ben-Simhon
Halevy added, "Thanks to the resilience of the residents and their heroism, we will continue to fight to bring security that will enable a return to the communities. The entire IDF, and I personally, are focused on only one goal now – defeating and dismantling Hamas.
"We have not fulfilled our mission to protect the residents, and we are still responsible for security going forward. We will remember what happened, we will fight and we will not allow such an event to happen again."
Halevi and the heads of municipalities in the south. "Committed to restoring security to the region", photo: Ashkelon Municipality Spokesperson's Office
Yossi Keren, Acting Head of the Sha'ar Hanegev Council: "I was pleased to hear the IDF's commitment to restoring security in the Gaza envelope. The chief of staff assured me and my fellow mayors that at the end of the war, the communities of Sha'ar Hanegev and the envelope would be safe and quiet. We have no other choice. In order for the western Negev to return to being alive and vibrant, not only physical rehabilitation work is needed, but also the restoration of trust in the contract between us – between the civilian home front and the IDF."
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