Chief of Staff Halevi in Khan Yunis: 'We won’t let up on Hamas until we bring back the hostages'

Halevi told top commanders that took thirty hours to extract the bodies of dead hostages from the tunnels and that they were exceptionally well hidden. 

 IDF Southern Command commander Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and 98th Division Commander Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus holding a situational assessment on Gaza, July 26, 2024. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)
IDF Southern Command commander Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and 98th Division Commander Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus holding a situational assessment on Gaza, July 26, 2024.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip on Thursday night.

He met with the commanders involved in the operation to rescue the hostages, along with the Southern Command Commander Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, 98th Division Commander Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus, and brigade commanders.

He told them it took thirty hours to extract the bodies from the tunnels and that they were exceptionally well hidden. 

 IDF Southern Command commander Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and 98th Division Commander Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus holding a situational assessment on Gaza, July 26, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)
IDF Southern Command commander Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and 98th Division Commander Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus holding a situational assessment on Gaza, July 26, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)

Until the last hostage is returned

"We had been near these bodies in the past, and we didn’t know we only had to reach out [and take them]. Now we know to reach out, and we reached out. We brought five bodies, which we are not sure we would have ever otherwise been retrieved.""We won’t let up on Hamas until we bring back the hostages.

 And we won’t let up on Hamas until we dismantle the last battalion, the last company. We are working very hard, always thinking about how to push forward."