IDF commander rebuked after telling reporters that settling Gaza is the ‘solution’ to defeating Hamas

The commander of the 7th Armored Brigade’s 82nd Battalion, Lt. Col. Ofir Caspi, has been rebuked by his division commander for political remarks given to reporters in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis yesterday.

Caspi had told reporters that the “solution” to defeating Hamas in Gaza is establishing settlements.

“The IDF should hold the territory, I think that if the settlements return here, we have won. If we kill [Yahya] Sinwar, we will not destroy Hamas, someone else will come. The solution is to return here, like the settlements in Judea and Samaria,” he said.

The IDF says Caspi was summoned for a “clarification” with the division commander, who reprimanded him for his “irregular remarks which are not in line with IDF protocols and what is expected of an IDF commander.”

“The officer took back his words and expressed regret,” the IDF says.

The IDF says the commander is currently fighting in Khan Younis, and the remarks were made amid a long conversation with reporters on the ongoing battles.