Following a tour of the coast of the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is deploying additional forces to Rafah while working to “create the conditions for the return of the hostages.”
“We are strengthening our effort against Rafah. This operation will go on and increase, more forces on the ground, more forces from the air, and we will reach our goals — to deal a very hard blow to Hamas, to deprive it of its military capabilities, [and] to create the conditions to return the hostages to their homes,” he says aboard a Dvora-class patrol boat.
Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, Navy chief Vice Adm. David Sa’ar Salama, the minister’s military secretary, Brig. Gen. Guy Markizeno, and the commander of the Ashdod Naval Base, Cpt. Eitan Paz join Gallant on the tour.
The ministry says Gallant was briefed on “the operational and humanitarian efforts in the maritime arena.”
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this