TEL AVIV, October 12. /TASS/. Military pressure and diplomacy have helped Israel to defeat the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir said.

"We entered an existential war to ensure that Israel remained standing and we defeated the enemy. The military pressure we applied over the past two years, together with the complementary diplomatic measures, constitute a victory over Hamas," he said as cited by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) press service.

He said that the IDF is launching "Operation ‘Returning Home’ to return our hostages from Hamas captivity." "In a few hours we will all be reunited - one people, embraced and united. We will rejoice at the sight of our living hostages returning to their families and we will mourn the return of the those who were murdered, among them our heroic soldiers who fell in battle," he said.

On October 9, Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan. Phase one provides for the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to agreed positions inside Gaza. The ceasefire agreement came into effect from 9:00 a.m. GMT and the Israeli troops began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines. From this time, a 72-hour countdown started until the release of hostages held by the Palestinian movement Hamas in the embattled enclave.