Israel's newly appointed military chief Eyal Zamir said Wednesday that his country's mission to defeat Hamas was not yet accomplished, with his inauguration coming at a precarious moment for the fragile truce in Gaza.
Speaking before Zamir at a ceremony at military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was "determined" to achieve victory in the multi-front war that began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.
The remarks come after Arab leaders endorsed on Tuesday a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority, presenting an alternative to US President Donald Trump's widely condemned proposal to take over the territory and displace its people.
But the prospect of the PA governing Gaza remains far from certain, with Israel having ruled out any future role for the body in the territory ruled by Hamas since 2007.
"Hamas has indeed suffered a severe blow, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not yet accomplished," Zamir said, amid a deadlock in negotiations on next steps in the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. Zamir is replacing Herzi Halevi, who announced his resignation as armed forces chief in January over the military's shortcomings on October 7.
The military has since released the findings of an internal investigation that acknowledged its "complete failure" to prevent the deadliest attack on Israel since its creation.
The Hamas assault resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, most of them civilians, while Israel's military retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,405 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides show.
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