IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir during a visit to Gaza today says the military will give Israel’s political leadership “flexibility” to advance a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, as it begins a new offensive in the Strip. “We have launched a ground operation as part of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots.’ The directive is clear: defeat the enemy and destroy its infrastructure wherever we operate. The IDF will allow flexibility for the political echelon to advance any hostage deal,” Zamir says in remarks published by the IDF.