IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited IDF troops in the Gaza Strip today (Tuesday). During his visit, Halevi stated that Israel's military pressure on Hamas is creating “better conditions” for the hundreds of hostages being held by Hamas amid reports that a deal to free dozens of hostages is near.
He told the soldiers: "You are doing an outstanding job. Seriously, it is really impressive. You entered here with force. You dealt a swift blow to Hamas' Beit Hanoun battalion. The way ahead is still long. We must be determined to take this route and deliver maximum achievements, to dismantle Hamas militarily and governmentally, to establish improved security in the communities in the southern region, and to bring back the hostages.."
“All these things work together. You should know that your work in the ground maneuver also creates better conditions for bringing back the hostages. It hurts Hamas, it creates pressure, and we will continue this pressure,” he said.
"Tell your families that we appreciate you very much. We know that it is not easy. We very much appreciate that you are here helping us advance as much as possible. And we know that behind each one of you there is a family, there is a job. The whole country highly appreciates this. On behalf of the IDF, I convey my deepest appreciation and with your spirit, we are determined to decisively advance," Halevi concluded
The Chief of Staff's comments come as the government is set to vote on a deal to release 50-80 hostages at 8 pm tonight.
This evening, a political official presented the outline for the deal to release dozens of hostages from Hamas captivity and emphasized that "all the security forces, the Shin Bet and the Mossad are in favor of the outline and also the entire war cabinet is united in favor of the proposal."
As part of the deal, which is expected to go into effect on Thursday, 12 Israeli hostages will be released every day during the four days of the agreed-upon truce. In the event that Hamas agrees to additional truces - for each day of the truce, ten additional hostages will be released.
The source emphasized that "we are talking about hostages who are all alive and are Israeli. Foreigners may also be released with the intervention of other countries with which Hamas is in contact."