Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in southern Israel
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in southern IsraelIDF Spokesperson

The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, in ​​a discussion with the combat soldiers and commanders in the field, said:

"After a difficult start, we are shaping the contact line. We targeted a lot of terrorists - whoever gets close, gets killed. We will finish neutralizing the terrorists in the area, so that we will not have terrorists here in Israel, and we are at the same time already striking on offense. We have many more tasks, we need to be strong. It started badly, and will end very badly on the other side.”

The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, held a discussion with the combat soldiers and commanders in Urim, Be’eri and in the Gaza Division, as part of the operational situational assessment that was conducted in the field. It was attended by the Commanding Officer of the 99th Division, BG Barak Hiram, BG Kobi Heller, the Commanding Officer of the 646th Division, COL Elad Shushan and the Commanding Officer of the Northern Gaza Brigade, COL Haim Cohen.

Earlier, six people were injured in the exchange of fire in the north and were taken to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. One person was critically injured, and another person was seriously injured. Two more injured are in moderate condition, and the remaining two were slightly injured.

Seven people were injured in the barrage of rockets into Jerusalem. In Mount Adar, a 60-year-old woman was seriously injured and another person was slightly injured, in Abu Gosh a 20-year-old man was seriously injured, and in Beitar Illit, a 10-year-old boy was seriously injured and three others were slightly injured.

Defense Minister Yoav Galant visited the control center of the Air Force at the Kiriya base in Tel Aviv, and ordered, in connection with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Major General Herzi Halevi, for "a significant increase in the intensity of the attacks in the Gaza Strip." According to him, "the main target is elimination of all Hamas targets." The Defense Minister added that "this is a war for our future. Exacting a heavy price from the enemy is a necessary condition for our existence in the region."

UAL leader Mansour Abbas, addressed the terrorist organizations in Gaza, and called on Hamas' leadership to release the Israeli captives. "Islamic values command us not to imprison women, children, and the elderly. This humanitarian step is requested immediately," Abbas said.