Without hostage release, war 'will continue without respite'

If Israeli hostages are not released in the Gaza Strip, "the fight will continue without respite," warned Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir during a visit to his troops in the Palestinian territory. "I believe that in the coming days, we will know if we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages. Otherwise, the fight will continue without respite," said Lieutenant General Zamir, in an army statement sent Saturday to AFP.

The chief of staff "made a field visit and an assessment of the situation" Friday in the Gaza Strip, accompanied by several high-ranking officers, according to the statement. "The war continues, and we will adapt it to the changing reality according to our interests," he added, judging that "the successes achieved give us operational flexibility."

The war was triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mainly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. Of the 251 people abducted that day, 49 remain hostages in Gaza, of whom 27 have been declared dead by the army.

Israel's war on Gaza killed at least 60,332 people in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to data from Gaza's Health Ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable. An additional 898 Israeli soldiers have also been killed since then, according to the army's official toll.

After nearly 22 months of relentless war against Hamas, the Gaza Strip, under Israeli blockade, is now threatened by "widespread famine," according to the United Nations, and is totally dependent on humanitarian aid delivered by trucks or air-dropped.

"The current campaign of false accusations regarding intentional famine is a deliberate, planned and deceitful attempt to accuse the IDF, a moral army, of war crimes," the chief of staff stated. "The ones responsible for the killings and the suffering of people in the Gaza Strip are Hamas," he claimed.

This visit to Gaza comes as the Israeli army has, for several days, been redeploying its troops in the Palestinian territory. During the week, the army announced the withdrawal from northern Gaza of its 98th Division, made up of elite units, which "is now preparing for new missions."