Benjamin Netanyahu sends a clear message stating that Israel “still has work” in Gaza, emphasizing that Hamas “continues to blatantly violate the ceasefire.” Specifically, the Israeli Prime Minister spoke at an officers’ school graduation ceremony in southern Israel, responding to criticism that American restrictions led to inadequate responses to Hamas’s deadly attacks against IDF forces. “If Hamas continues to blatantly violate the ceasefire, it will suffer powerful attacks like those two days ago and yesterday,” he threatened and continued: “We decide and act whenever necessary to remove immediate threats from our forces.” “At the end of the day, Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized… If foreign forces do it, that will be good. If they don’t do it, we will do it ourselves” Netanyahu emphasized.
Israel: Military Ready to Return to Combat
For his part, IDF Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir warned that the military is ready to return to combat on any front and will use “much greater force” than during the past two years of war. “We will show no patience toward any threat that emerges. We will believe an enemy who declares their intention to harm us, and we will destroy them,” Zamir said at the same ceremony. “There will be no tolerance when the security of Israeli citizens is threatened. This is an axiom I intend to uphold. We operate in all domains and now, with high readiness for whatever scale of operation is required. In certain fields, we will act again with much greater force than in the previous two years,” he added.
Hamas Handed Over Bodies of Two Hostages to the Red Cross
Meanwhile, amid intense pressure regarding compliance with the ceasefire agreement, Hamas handed over the bodies of two hostages shortly after 4 PM on Thursday (30/10). The coffins were received by the Red Cross as part of the peace agreement that has been in effect since October 10. Subsequently, they will be collected by the IDF with a brief, simple ceremony and transported to Israel. The Palestinian organization had informed earlier that it would hand over the two bodies without specifying their identities.
According to data available to the Israelis, there are currently 13 dead hostages whose remains are still in Gaza, including two American citizens. So far, Israel has received the remains of 15 out of 28 dead hostages.
