‘The IDF does not offer anything less than decisive victory,’ says Eyal Zamir
IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told reservists on Tuesday that the military would not stop its campaign in Gaza until Hamas is “defeated,” remarks that came as the IDF called up tens of thousands of troops ahead of a planned ground push into Gaza City.
“We are going to increase and enhance the strikes of our operation, and that is why we called you,” Zamir said during a visit to the Nachshonim base in central Israel, where members of the 11th Brigade reported for duty. “The IDF does not offer anything less than decisive victory. We will not stop the war until we defeat this enemy.”
The mobilization, described as the largest since the weeks after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, is expected to bring some 60,000 reservists into service in phases. Around 40,000 to 50,000 were ordered to report on Tuesday.
Zamir, who was joined at the base by 99th Division commander Brig. Gen. Yoav Brunner, said the IDF is entering areas it has “never entered before.” He emphasized that Hamas leadership would find no safe haven.
“Wherever we locate them, whether they are senior or junior figures—we strike them all, all the time,” he said.
The reservists will undergo training and redeployments in the coming days, with some slated to reinforce regular units stationed in Israel’s north and in the West Bank as Israel prepares to send four divisions into Gaza City. The campaign, expected to last several months, aims to dismantle Hamas’s remaining strongholds and secure the release of dozens of Israeli hostages still held in the strip.
Zamir praised the reservists’ turnout and urged them to rise to the challenge.
“We are operating across the entire Middle East. Hamas will have no place to hide from us,” he said. “With courage, strength, valor, and an extraordinary spirit, we will prevail.”
