IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz that "Hamas has been defeated" and that the terror organization "has been vanquished." Zamir made the remarks during a security briefing given to senior political officials at the beginning of the month, during a visit to the Gaza Division. The statements were made in a discussion where the head of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate's Research Division, Brig. Gen. Ophir Mizrahi, presented the state of Hamas, saying that "we identify a desire by Hamas to renew governance along the red line. It should be noted that Hamas is still a threatening organization." Zamir responded: "That's true, but alongside that, Hamas is a vanquished organization."