IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir conducted a situation assessment and tour in the Gaza Strip with Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, telling soldiers that "if there is a deal for the release of the hostages - it will be possible first and foremost thanks to your fighting. If an agreement is reached, we will stop and deploy along the lines defined by the political echelon. If there is no deal, my directive to the Southern Command is to intensify and expand the fighting as much as possible." The IDF chief added that "we will know in the coming days whether we have a deal or not."