TEL AVIV, February 13. /TASS/. The objective of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip - to demilitarize the enclave - remain unchanged and the Israeli army is prepared to proceed from a defensive posture to offensive operations, if necessary, Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said.
"We are not relinquishing the objectives of the war - the full demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and the disarmament of Hamas. We are operating in accordance with the directive of the political echelon, while maintaining military plans for their defeat and we stand ready to act defensively as required," he said while visiting the Rafah area.
According to Zamir, Israeli forces deployed in the Gaza Strip are safeguarding the security at border crossings and are "precisely dismantling terror infrastructure" in the enclave. "We are prepared to transition from a defensive posture to an offensive one. For any violation, we will respond and degrade their capabilities," he warned. Recently, we eliminated numerous terrorists, including senior operatives from the terrorist organizations."
He stated that the Israeli army has achieved serious successes in all arenas over the past two years. "There is no immunity for terrorism. What applies to terrorists in Gaza applies to the terrorists in other arenas as well. We will continue to remain focused and remove threats, with determination and a proactive approach," he pledged.
Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing residents of border settlements and taking more than 250 hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas' military and political structures and free all hostages.
Israel and Hamas resumed Egypt-, Qatar-, United States-, and Turkey-mediated indirect talks on settling the situation in the Gaza Strip on October 6, 2025. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the implementation of phase one of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The ceasefire came into effect on October 10. Under the agreement, Israeli troops withdrew to the so-called Yellow Line but retained control over more than 50% of the enclave’s territory. On October 13, Hamas released 20 living hostages and handed over the bodies of four out of 28 deceased hostages. The remains of the last Israeli hostage were handed over to Israel on January 26.
Phase two of the Gaza peace plan envisages the disarmament of Palestinian radical, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave, and the deployment of an "international stabilization force," as well as the launch of the enclave administration structures. US special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff announced the beginning of the implementation of the second phase of the plan on January 14.