IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin issued a video statement in English on Sunday about Israel’s ongoing multi-front war and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. "This week alone, we faced threats from every direction," Defrin said in the statement.
Defrin described a series of incidents the IDF has confronted in recent days. He said a terrorist crossed from Jordan at the Allenby Crossing in a truck carrying humanitarian aid and opened fire — aid that, he noted, was intended for the people of Gaza. In Ramallah, the spokesman said, IDF forces uncovered rockets prepared for launch toward Israeli homes. He added that in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s Radwan Force continues attempts to rearm and to seek Israel’s destruction, while from Yemen the Houthis continue to fire ballistic missiles and UAVs directly at Israeli civilians. "Just today, rockets were once again launched from Gaza into Israel," Defrin said.
As the Jewish New Year arrives, Defrin noted that "forty-eight hostages remain in the grip of Hamas. Their captivity is an unfinished chapter of this war — and we will not close it until they are home. We have no other choice."
He also detailed actions he said demonstrated Hamas’s tactics. According to the statement, Hamas opened fire on a UN team and used stolen UN vehicles to block the construction of a new road intended for future aid trucks. Defrin said armed terrorists robbed four UNICEF aid trucks at gunpoint, "depriving 2,700 infants of baby formula," and that Hamas continues to violently obstruct civilians from evacuating combat zones. "Hamas doesn’t protect Gazans, they sacrifice them," he said.
Defrin emphasized that Israel is working to keep humanitarian corridors open and to facilitate civilian movement toward safer areas. "Until now, 550,000 people have moved south," the spokesman said. He added that the IDF is "continuing to enhance the humanitarian area and encourage residents to leave the combat zones."
At Kerem Shalom crossing, Defrin said "thousands of tents and supplies are waiting right now for collection by the UN and international organizations," and called on those organizations to collect and deliver the aid "directly to the Gazan people." He said that in recent weeks Israel has enabled the entry of over 24,000 tents into Gaza and is ensuring civilians can access food, shelter, and medicine.
On the military front, Defrin said IDF operations have moved deeper into Gaza City to target Hamas’s main stronghold. "We are engaged in combat, facing terrorists both above and below ground," he said, adding that Israeli forces are "working day and night, turning over every stone, to bring our hostages home, dismantle Hamas’s terror networks, and secure a safer region for all."
Concluding the statement, Defrin accused Hamas of seeking to "exploit its own people and prolong this war," and said that strategy "will not succeed. We have no other choice but to fight for our future."