IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin delivered a statement Tuesday evening, providing updates on the military’s continued operations in the Gaza Strip. “We are in the midst of a large-scale operation,” Defrin said, emphasizing that sustained military pressure is eroding Hamas' control. “Hamas' grip on the population is weakening.”
Defrin explained that the Southern Command is continuing systematic efforts to dismantle Hamas and bring home the hostages. Displaying a map showing five IDF divisions operating across Gaza, he noted on day 606 of the war that “Hamas is losing control over the civilian population, spreading false information and obstructing the delivery of aid.”
Addressing reports of Israeli fire toward civilians at a humanitarian aid distribution site in Rafah earlier in the day, Defrin said: “We will not report information or details that are not true. The incident is being investigated thoroughly, and we will uncover the full truth. We are not preventing civilians from receiving aid—Hamas is the one obstructing it.” He described the aid operation in Gaza as “successful” and confirmed that the IDF is prepared to respond to a pro-Palestinian flotilla en route to Gaza, which includes activist Greta Thunberg and actor Liam Cunningham.
“We are holding territory and clearing it of terrorists and infrastructure,” Defrin said. “As part of Operation Gideon's Chariots, we’ve struck across the Strip. We are acting to bring home the hostages. Since the resumption of fighting, we have eliminated hundreds of terrorists and hit numerous terror targets throughout Gaza.”
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Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the deaths of three Givati Brigade soldiers, killed by a powerful explosion in Jabaliya in northern Gaza. “We are advancing cautiously to minimize casualties among our forces,” he said.
Netanyahu expressed deep sorrow for the fallen soldiers—Staff Sgt. Lior Steinberg, 20, of Petah Tikva, Staff Sgt. Ofek Barhana, 20, of Yavne, and Staff Sgt. Omer Van Gelde, 22, of Maale Adumim. “May their memories be a blessing,” Netanyahu said. “Their deaths were not in vain. They fell in a just war—one in which we will defeat Hamas, free all of our hostages, and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”
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Fallen soldiers Staff Sgt. Lior Steinberg, 20, of Petah Tikva, Staff Sgt. Ofek Barhana, 20, of Yavne, and Staff Sgt. Omer Van Gelde, 22, of
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
“Regrettably, there are no cost-free wars,” he added. “The price paid by the families—and by all of Israel—is heavy, at times unbearably so. But we will achieve every one of the war’s objectives—without exception.”
The three soldiers, from Givati’s Rotem Battalion, were killed Monday when their Humvee was hit by an explosive device while returning from assisting a burning armored vehicle that had also struck an explosive in Jabaliya. Two other soldiers were moderately wounded. Engineering and bomb disposal teams subsequently uncovered a large minefield in the area containing dozens of explosive devices, apparently intended to cause far greater harm.