"I am responsible for the decisions and actions that were made in the IDF during my time and I constantly ask myself what we could have done differently," former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. (res.) Aviv Kochavi said Monday in remarks at a ceremony marking the 76th anniversary of the disaster at the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
"76 years have passed but many characteristics remain the same. First, then, as now, the State of Israel faces a large number of enemies. The days of all-out war are not over. The IDF fights on several fronts and it does so professionally and qualitatively, from the first male and female soldiers, through the commanders to the chief of staff.
Yoni Rikner
"The IDF will forever be Israel's defensive wall, on October 7th this wall was completely breached. I hope for the return of all the abductees, embrace their families and wish to strengthen the families whose sons and daughters are fighting these days. There is no more important and valuable act than this," Kochavi said.
"In the belly of the tank that fought in Khan Yunis, there are secular and religious, conservatives and liberals, and people who hold opposing political views, and they function together both in the war room in the rear and in the logistics warehouse. This is the uniqueness of the IDF."
"We will have to reexamine the concept of war and security, and with it the concept of peace. We will remember that security is a first and necessary condition for our existence."
Regarding the current campaign in Gaza, the former IDF chief of staff said: "It is possible and necessary to combine the return of the abductees with the destruction of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities. No other outcome can be accepted, and only it will affect Israel's security and standing in the region. This is an outcome that will bring security to the south and strengthen our alliance in the region.
"In the belly of the tank that fought in Khan Yunis, there are secular and religious, conservatives and liberals, and people who hold opposing political views, and they function together both in the war room in the rear and in the logistics warehouse. This is the uniqueness of the IDF.
"The extremist and toxic statements must stop, this is not a comment on the language, but on the depth of the alienation and hostility it creates. Some use the terms 'enemy' and 'war'. These are battlefield terms and they should stay there. Leave the army out of this discourse. Let the IDF win."
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