Hamas fighters ‘courageous,’ IDF chief says

In unusual remarks about an enemy force, Israel’s army chief said Monday that Hamas combatants fought courageously against the Israel Defense Forces during this summer’s war in the Gaza Strip.

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz added that the military was keeping a close watch on the Islamist terror group in order to effectively prepare for another potential round of violence.

“We must be honest and say that we fought against brave men,” Gantz said during a discussion with IDF soldiers, Channel 2 News reported.

“To run up and try to put an explosive charge upon a tank is the act of courageous people.”

Gantz stressed that the IDF was taking major steps to ensure that Israel would be safe in case of further attacks on its civilians.

“We are tracking what is taking place on our borders, in Gaza and in the sea,” he added.

“We do not really know what the challenges of the future will hold, but I can state decisively that, no matter how challenging and difficult it will be, as long as we will stand together — it will be possible.”

The latest conflict in Gaza was the most ruinous of three recent wars, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians — mostly civilians, the UN says. Another 11,000 were wounded, and some 100,000 people remain homeless. Israel says some 1,000 of the fatalities were Hamas operatives and other gunmen, and blames Hamas for all civilian casualties, arguing that the group attacked Israel from within residential areas.

Hamas and other terror groups fired over 4,500 rockets and projectiles at Israel, and staged several attacks through cross-border tunnels. Seventy-two Israelis were killed throughout the operation.

Adiv Sterman contributed to this report.