IDF will keep killing terrorists until Hamas frees hostages, says chief of staff

‘We won’t stop’ – Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi tells IDF officers in Gaza that Israel’s military operations in the Strip are meant to pressure Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel is using its ongoing military operation in the Gaza Strip to exert pressure on the Hamas terror organization, hoping to force it to release the remaining 100 captives held in the coastal enclave, according to the IDF’s top officer.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi met with Israeli officers operating in the northern Gaza city of Jabalia on Tuesday.

During the visit, Halevi held a situational assessment with Major General Yaron Finkelman, the Southern Command Chief; Brigadier General Itzik Cohen, the commander of the 162nd Division; and other senior IDF officers in the Gaza Strip.

Israel, is working to use military force to bring Hamas “to the point where it will understand that it needs to [release] all the hostages,” Halevi told the officers.

“I look at the situation that Hamas is in; they see, every day, what you are doing to them, and they understand that this thing is close to being unbearable.

“And I am telling you that we will not stop,” Halevi said. “We will bring them to the point where they will understand that they need to release all the hostages; otherwise, the very professional work you are doing will continue and continue, and it means more prisoners and more dead terrorists. And I know you are doing everything possible to minimize casualties on our side.”

The comments came amid mixed signals regarding the status of hostage deal talks in Doha, Qatar.

Various Arabic media outlets have reported this week that the two sides have made progress in the negotiations.

However, senior Hamas spokesman and politburo member Osama Hamdan told a press conference in Algeria on Tuesday that the terror group will not compromise on any of its core demands, insisting on the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and a complete end to the war.

Israel has already rejected a complete pullout from Gaza, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will continue fighting the war until it has achieved all its objectives, including the complete dismantling of the Hamas terror organization.