IDF's New Spokesperson Makes First Statement to the Media; Here's What He Said

The new IDF Spokesperson, Brigadier General Efi Defrin, appointed to his position replacing Daniel Hagari less than a month ago, delivered his first statement to the media this evening (Thursday) - against the backdrop of the renewal and expansion of the war in Gaza.

He began with a general announcement that "from now on I will meet with you here and provide updates according to developments with transparency." He then detailed the IDF's achievements in Gaza and said that the only thing that would prevent the IDF's progress in the war is the release of hostages.

"In recent days, we have advanced to another stage in the operation," said Defrin. "The operation began with a combined air and ground attack, and we struck more than 60 targets in the northern and southern Gaza Strip to prepare the ground for the ground entry."

He added and detailed that "we expanded the activity in the southern Gaza Strip with the aim of encircling Rafah. In northern Gaza, our forces are raiding terrorist targets and destroying them."

According to him, the IDF maintains operational ambiguity so they can surprise the enemy. "Beyond that, our actions will speak," he said. He detailed the number of terrorists eliminated since the return to war - about 250 terrorists, including 12 senior officials.