IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari made a statement to the media this evening (Tuesday), in which he referred to today's events in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"Today we announced the death of the late IDF soldier Noam Marciano, who was kidnapped by the terrorist organization Hamas. IDF representatives informed the family and accompanied them with all the information available to us, and the pain is great," Hagari said. "I want to say to the families of the abductees - we are working in all relevant ways to bring them home."
"The fighting in the heart of Gaza continues - today we completed the takeover of Shati. This is a neighborhood that is the heart of terrorism in Gaza City, and now the forces are clearing the area where the terrorists and the means of warfare are, and also clearing it of tunnel shafts. We continue to prioritize the elimination of senior Hamas officials. The activity is complex, in an environment full of traps above and below the ground, we are working hard and making progress. We have achievements, but there is still a lot of work and it will take time.
"We are allowing the evacuation of the hospitals to the south, including the Shifa Hospital. Today the evacuation of Al Quds Hospital was completed. In recent weeks, we have warned that due to Hamas's use of hospitals, it will lose its special protection in the International Court of Justice. We are forced to act carefully and decisively and with the help of high quality intelligence. We call on the Hamas operatives in the hospitals to surrender so as not to endanger the patients. The world needs to know what is happening in the hospitals in Gaza - Hamas uses the patients as a human shield for terrorism."
He also stated that "in the north we continue to be on high alert. Today we eliminated a number of terrorist squads that tried to fire anti-tank missiles at our forces. In addition, we successfully intercepted a missile launched over the Red Sea. An alert was activated, but I emphasize that the target did not cross into the territory of the State of Israel. We activate an alert whenever there is a fear of a threat to the residents."
In response to a question about the threat posed by the Houthi rebels from Yemen, Hagari said that "Yemen, unlike other countries in the region, is a divided country. There is Yemen that is in relations with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, and there is Yemen that is under the control of the Houthis, and it is unruly and not really a sovereign state. There is a civil war there, the Houthis receive direction and means of warfare from the Iranians and terrorist infrastructure, but it is not sovereignty like other countries. It is not similar to that - it is not a terrorist entity in that sense. We are monitoring the situation, and in contacts with the US the moderate countries that fought against them. We will manage this intelligence to bring stability to the region, contrary to what the Houthis are doing."
