IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir stated that the military would expand operational activities until the hostages were returned in a situational assessment in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
“Hamas is responsible for starting this war, Hamas is still cruelly holding the hostages, and is responsible for the dire situation of the population in Gaza,” Zamir said, speaking to soldiers in Rafah. He told the soldiers that during Wednesday's ceremony at Yad Vashem, he saw the six torchbearers, Holocaust survivors who stood "tall, strong, and determined."
"We are fighting for them. They are looking at us and counting on us," he said. "On Holocaust Remembrance Day, the profound meaning of your activity here becomes even clearer, for the existence of a sovereign Jewish state with a strong defense force.”
Zamir was accompanied by the commanding officers of the Southern Command, the 36th Dicision, the Gaza division, and additional commanders.