IDF spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari commented this evening (Sunday) on the continuation of fighting in Gaza and in the north against Hezbollah.
At the beginning of his remarks, he mentioned the takeover of Palestine Square. "We continue to fight in the south of the Gaza Strip and in the north, at the end of a combined attack by Shiryon, Shayetet, and Shaldag, they completed the area of Palestine Square in Gaza where Yahya Sinwar's office, government offices, properties of senior Hamas officials are located and where a terrorist network of tunnels is located.
"Our forces, on the basis of accurate intelligence, located a network of underground tunnels in the area, they are strategic because they go from the north of Gaza City to the area of the Shifa hospital, which is the area of the central headquarters, where senior Hamas officials were also on October 7 and throughout the fighting, and they moved to other areas in the region."
"Fighters on the battlefield are required to act professionally and ethically"
According to Hagari, "We continue to uncover this network of tunnels and identify a significant amount of infrastructure there, Hamas has invested a fortune in lower Gaza while using citizens up in the urban area, where there is a college and humanitarian institutions. It spent a fortune when there is a human shield at the top. Our forces are fighting in several centers at the same time, Shejaiya, Jabalia, the Khan Yunis area. These are the centers of gravity of Hamas. There are intense and difficult battles there, terrorists come out of shafts, place charges, arrive with RPG squads, a battle develops and it has one purpose to kill the terrorists.
"There are also casualties and wounded for our forces, unfortunately. We will continue to purify the space. I would like to refer to unusual documents published on the networks. The IDF forces operate on the values of the IDF and the spirit of the IDF. Fighters on the battlefield are required to act professionally and ethically. We will not compromise on that. In any event that does not fit the values of the IDF, command and disciplinary measures will be taken. This is the spirit of the IDF."
In the north, fighter jets along with tanks and artillery attacked infrastructure, launchers and military complexes. All those of the terrorist organization Hezbollah. Also, IDF forces attacked a terrorist squad that tried to launch an anti-tank missile against Israel. We will continue to attack in the face of any terrorist threat from Hezbollah. The Chief of Staff arrived at the Northern Command and conducted a situation assessment. He says that the return to the settlements will be with security together with the local leadership while strengthening the standby squads."
"We have them take off their clothes because we fear explosive belts"
Regarding the photos of the surrender in Gaza, "It is Jabalia and Shejaiya, where there are significant battles, these are Hamas strongholds, the fighting is not over there yet, we continue to dismantle this area. In the process, there is a surrender and exit of many people, some of whom are also armed, who lay down their weapons. When we identify such a group after it has surrendered, we have them take off their clothes because we are afraid of explosive belts. This is something that has been done for years in combat and we have come across cases where they exploded on our forces."
According to the IDF spokesman, "Not all of them are members of Hamas and terrorist organizations, at the end of the investigation they put on their clothes and arrest those who are members of a terrorist organization and bring them for questioning and those who are not members of a terrorist organization are released to the south. The photos that were distributed are not of the IDF spokesman. We have arrested dozens who are terrorists, there are many who have surrendered, this is significant and it is a sign that terrorists who are in difficult strongholds decide to surrender and this is a very important thing."
Regarding the day after the war in Gaza: "The IDF has a strategic wing and part of the way it is conducted is the formulation of the strategic situation and a recommendation to the political echelon. In the end it is the political echelon who decides, the role of the IDF is to build the possibilities and alternatives, this is the way we will reach the end of the war."
On the elimination of senior Hamas officials: "We need to reach the top three, we aim to reach them and other senior Hamas officials. The field level has a significant and major impact. Our job is to locate them and eliminate them. After we decide that we have exhausted our maximum achievements, we will move on to the next stages of the war, which must lead to a security space that will allow for residents in the south and north to return to an improved security situation."
Regarding the North: "We attack in Lebanon and react harshly and try to thwart the threat before it happens. Kill it before it fires an anti-tank missile. The priority is to eliminate everything that is near the settlements, to continue cleaning them."
Regarding the Houthis who claim to have stopped ships en route to Israel, "What is happening in the straits of the Red Sea is a serious matter. The Houthis have damaged ships that have no connection to Israel and this is an infringement on international freedom of navigation and this is serious. The American Navy has established a special task force to which several countries will join to ensure freedom of navigation . Those who stand behind this and agree with it are the Iranians. This is not only a Houthi problem but the negative way that Iran operates in the Middle East. Regarding freedom of navigation, we need to make sure that the interests of the State of Israel are preserved both in defense and in freedom of navigation and we will make sure to do that."