Minister Gallant in Rafah
Minister Gallant in RafahAriel Hermoni, Ministry of Defense

Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning and joined troops deployed in Rafah and the Philadelphi corridor.

Minister Gallant was shown the location where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was eliminated. He also held an operational situation assessment together with the General of the Southern Command, Commander of the Gaza Division, and additional senior officials.

“In any place where Hamas rears its head, it meets the IDF – whether in Rafah, Khan Younis, or Jabaliya- wherever Hamas rises, it is taken down. Your [military] actions led to the conditions that ultimately caused Sinwar to make a mistake [leading to his elimination]," Gallant told the troops.

“The central issue here is to continue exerting as much [military] pressure on Hamas as possible, in order to create the conditions necessary to ensure the return of the hostages. Your duty is to exert military pressure and eliminate and imprison terrorists.

“The political echelon must do what is necessary to bring about a deal. You [referring to the troops] must apply military pressure and do what is necessary to create the conditions required for us to carry out a deal. This is our most important mission in Gaza at this time," he continued.

Gallant added: “We have routine tasks as well – defending Israeli communities and troops and maintaining our freedom of operation in Gaza. You apply pressure – do what is necessary and we will bring about a deal because you created the conditions for us to carry it out, and I hope that we will do it.”