Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrived today (Tuesday) in the IDF's Gaza Division and held an operational assessment with the commander of the Southern Command Major General Yaron Finkelman and the commander of the Gaza Division Lieutenant Colonel Avi Rosenfeld.
Then he visited the observation post of Nahal Oz that was established at the division headquarters and spoke with the female outpost observers.
At the end of the visit, Gallant said, "From the observation deck I saw both the forces that are inside and the observers that are here, at the back. I see the combination between attack and defense. The troops are fighting at the front and are backed up by the Nahal Oz observation corps, which is now at the division's headquarters, and is doing an excellent job. Just as we restored, renovated, and re-established the observation corps, we will do the same in all of Gaza, it won’t be long before we restore all the communities."
He said, "The soldiers are maneuvering in the depth of the terrain, they are doing an excellent job. Their determination, together with the punctuality and the combination of the land, air and sea forces with accurate intelligence brings unusual results and I praise the soldiers of the IDF, the members of the General Security Service, all the security agencies that do an exemplary job. As we deepen this operation, we see the cruelty of Hamas."
The Minister of Defense stated that “All the shafts are built under hospitals, all the offensive and defensive tunnels are under schools with a connection between them, they don't miss anything. The main headquarters are under hospitals, we have never seen something like this. But thanks to the very determined action of the IDF soldiers, we are gradually bringing the defeat of Hamas and the situation closer to the return of hostages to their homes."
He elaborated on the deal in which the government would approve the release of the hostages. "I think we will all be required to make difficult, important decisions in the coming days. There is not a moment when throughout this campaign, 45 days, I do not think about the hostages and I do not see their faces, of the children, of the women, of the soldiers, of the adults, of the Holocaust survivors, of those who are here before my eyes."
"I know what difficulty the families are going through and I tell you that for me to bring about the return of the hostages is a supreme goal that I will make every effort to reach," he concluded.