Defense Minister Gallant. (Screenshot of Defense Ministry footage.)
Defense Minister Gallant visited an artillery battery supporting IDF troops in the Rafah area today (Wednesday).
There he gave a statement, saying that "This operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and the entire Gaza strip or until the first hostage returns."
Gallant also said that "We are willing to make compromises in order to bring back hostages, but if that option is removed, we will go on and ‘deepen’ the operation - this will happen all over the [Gaza] strip - in the south, in the center and in the north. Hamas only responds to force, so we will intensify our actions, and the military pressure will result in us crushing the Hamas [terrorist] organization."