The area Israel controls in the Gaza Strip will be expanded beyond the so-called “yellow line.” That decision was made this evening (Tuesday) at the conclusion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security consultation on responses to Hamas’s repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement.
The discussion included Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon - who coordinates the intelligence effort on the captives and missing persons - and Shin Bet chief David Zini.
Defense Minister Katz stated: "The Hamas terrorist organization will pay a heavy price for attacking IDF soldiers in Gaza and violating the agreement to return the fallen hostages. The attack on IDF soldiers today in Gaza by the Hamas terrorist organization crosses a bright red line, to which the IDF will respond with great force."
"Protecting the safety and security of IDF soldiers is the primary mission of the IDF's operations in Gaza. Hamas will pay with compound interest for attacking the soldiers and violating the agreement to return the fallen hostages," Katz said.
Kan News reported this evening (Tuesday) that in recent days there were meetings between Israeli, Qatari, and American representatives in several Western countries attempting to find solutions to the crisis of violations of the agreement and the failure to return the fallen hostages.
Those trilateral talks also addressed which countries and actors would join an international force to operate in Gaza. According to an official, the mediators proposed that professional teams of representatives from five countries - the United States, Israel, Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt - enter the Strip to assist in locating the remains. However, Israel demurred and only approved an Egyptian team to enter last Saturday. According to the source, the Egyptians have already reported difficulties locating the remains and the need for assistance from additional professional teams.
The IDF released footage today showing Hamas operatives burying remains from the body of fallen hostage Ofir Tzarfati, whose body had been returned to Israel in a military operation about two years ago. After burying the remains, the militants staged their removal from the ground and then returned them to Israel through the Red Cross.
Meanwhile, families of murdered hostages demanded today an immediate meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu “in light of Hamas’s violations, its abhorrent actions, the cynical use of the hostages and, within that, the deception of the Red Cross.”
The families said: “Hamas’s repeated violations and the IDF footage prove what we have said plainly and firmly: Hamas knows the locations of all the hostages and continues to act with contempt, deceiving the U.S. and the mediators and violating the dignity of our loved ones. The government of Israel cannot and must not ignore this and must act decisively against these violations. We demand an urgent, immediate meeting with the Prime Minister today in which he will detail the full plan.”