Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz visited the Philadelphi Corridor in the Gaza Strip, accompanied by Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, Southern Command’s head, and Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, commander of the Gaza Division. During the visit, the military leaders briefed Katz on the ongoing operations of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the area. The minister spoke with both soldiers and commanders, expressing his gratitude for their dedication and efforts to both secure the return of all hostages and dismantle Hamas’s governmental and military infrastructure in Gaza.
Katz explained, “I came to visit Gaza to meet the commanders and soldiers who are doing a great job, displaying bravery, resourcefulness, and determination, while the need to create conditions to free the hostages and ensure Israel’s security is in their sights. Security will remain in the hands of the IDF which will be able to work in every way to remove threats, prevent tunnels, prevent terrorist infrastructure, and prevent terrorists from organizing and attempting to harm the State of Israel and IDF soldiers.”
The defense minister emphasized the importance of preventing the resurgence of threats in the region. “We will make sure that what we saw as far as infiltration tunnels, what we saw as far as threats, while we saw this heroic war that destroyed these capabilities – will not return. We will make sure that the security control will be in the hands of the IDF which will be allowed to work in every location to prevent threats,” Katz stated.
Katz further affirmed Israel’s commitment to ensuring security in Gaza, stating, “We will make sure that here in Gaza too, like in Lebanon, Syria, and the east, there will be no more threats on Israeli communities, Israeli citizens, and IDF soldiers. In Gaza as well, we will make sure that there will be security areas, buffer zones, and dominating positions that will ensure the safety of the communities, with all this, we will work to reach the two objectives of the war – to free all the hostages and to defeat Hamas.”
He concluded with a strong message of resolve: “There will not be a political Hamas here and there will not be a militant Hamas here – there will be a different reality here thanks to the fighting that continues every day, even now. I met the soldiers and the reservists, they are all determined and said: ‘Keep going, let us continue till the end, to ensure security and to return the hostages,’ that’s what we’ll do.”
{Matzav.com Israel}