Gallant: We have picked up fighting where we left off in Gaza

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Yoav Gallant in a statement to the press in Tel Aviv on December 2, 2023. (screen capture: Channel 12; used in accordance with Cause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Yoav Gallant in a statement to the press in Tel Aviv on December 2, 2023. (screen capture: Channel 12; used in accordance with Cause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the military has “returned to fighting in full force,” after Hamas violated a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

He says he ordered that fire be resumed Friday morning after Hamas refused to release 15 women and two children as part of a truce deal.

“We are continuing exactly where we left off,” he says in a press conference.

He says he toured Gaza from the air and the border area from the ground over the last two days, calling the results of the IDF’s restarting offensive “very impressive.”

“Thousands of terrorists have been eliminated, dozens of headquarters [have been struck], hundreds of terabytes of information are in our hands, hundreds of terrorists have been captured and are being interrogated in Israel,” he says.

“An achievement of 110 hostages returning alive, no army in the world has achieved this against a terror organization. We achieved it because of the strength of the IDF,” Gallant says.

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