The 73rd day of the Swords of Iron War: The IDF spokesman in a statement to the media: "Good evening, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff held a joint situation assessment with Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State of the United States. The Chief of Staff presented them with the situation both in the north and in Iran's operations in the entire region. The IDF and the Americans are cooperating against the threat in the entire region. The IDF and the Air Force continue everywhere in the Gaza Strip.
"The video that Hamas released is a criminal video testifying to innocent elders who need medical attention. The world should take care of this. Our hearts are with all the abductees at every moment and we must do everything to return them. Haim, Yoram and Amiram I hope you hear me tonight. We are doing everything to return you safely, we will not rest until you return. In the north, we attacked Hezbollah from the air.
"In Samaria there was a shooting and an Israeli civilian was injured. We are after the terrorist. More than 400 wanted persons have been caught in Judea and Samaria, for months we have been witnessing the forces of the reserve members which would not have been possible without their supporting families. We are working to increase the financial assistance to the reserve people and their families. Contact the 1111 hotline for all matters."
To the question about a change in the procedures due to international pressure, Hagari answers: "There is no change in the procedures, this is part of the expansion of the ground operation and terrorists come out. Dismantle the tunnels and flood them and they come out. There is contact and there are a lot of terrorists killed. In the end, there are terrorists who rise from the ground and wage war. They are killed and some of them surrender. The operation will lead to the dissolution of Hamas and the return of the abductees."
To the question about the videos in which exposed soldiers are seen, he answered: "Every day around the clock there is close air support. I also watch the films and we learn and improve, these are individual Hamas films. There are tens of thousands of fighters fighting in Gaza right now. There are dozens of incidents where we attack and kill and they surrender. We learn about each incident and understand what happened in the area, how Hamas gathered intelligence and how to kill it better, this is war and there will be more such incidents." When asked about a cyber attack in Iran, he replied: "I will not comment on the matter, wherever there is terrorist activity we will protect Israel."
