IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz tells reporters, following the announcement earlier today that 13 soldiers were killed overnight, that “today, there were more casualties than on previous days, in battles in areas that were complex and difficult.”
“We are in the 13th day of fighting and my impression is that this military campaign is going well and is being managed well,” he says.
“We are determined to fulfill missions and I trust that our forces will know how to deal with the difficulties and continue to operate as necessary.”
“In battle there are casualties, but our role is to fulfill missions – and we will continue in that,” says the commander of the army. “The residents of Shejaiya, too, know that they fell victim to the deployment of Hamas personnel in the neighborhood.”
Gantz says Israel regrets the loss of civilian life but stresses that the IDF does everything it can to get noncombatants to leave areas targeted for strikes.
He adds that, despite the losses on the Israeli side, Hamas is being hit hard, it is losing men and harm is being done to its tunnel infrastructure.
IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz (Photo credit: Flash 90)
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