IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir declared Wednesday that Israel’s military will continue aggressively targeting Hamas, preventing new threats from emerging along the country’s borders, and relentlessly pursuing everyone responsible for the October 7 massacre during a visit to troops operating in the Gaza Strip.

Zamir toured the sector alongside Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, 99th Division Commander Brig. Gen. Elad Tzuri, Gaza Division Commander Brig. Gen. Liron Batito, and other senior officers. During the visit, he received operational briefings from field commanders and reiterated that the IDF’s security strategy is being applied consistently across every one of Israel’s borders.

“We are implementing the security strategy we defined-not only here, but along all of the State of Israel’s borders,” Zamir said. “The IDF is positioned at the front, ahead of the communities and their residents, in order to protect them.”

Discussing the campaign against Hamas, Zamir said Israeli forces have dramatically altered the battlefield and inflicted major damage on the terror organization while making Israel’s southern frontier significantly more secure.

“In the Gaza Strip, we have struck Hamas, significantly weakened it, and fundamentally changed the security reality,” he stated. “The IDF will continue to operate proactively and according to the principle we established-to remove threats and, in every situation, protect the communities and their residents and safeguard their security.”

The chief of staff emphasized that Israel will never again permit the kind of terrorist buildup that culminated in the October 7 attacks.

“We will not allow a threat to emerge on our borders like the one we experienced during the October 7 massacre,” Zamir declared.

Zamir also placed the fighting in Gaza within the context of Israel’s broader regional military campaign, noting that the same determination he observed during a recent visit to forces in southern Lebanon is evident among the troops now operating in Gaza.

“The Gaza front is part of a multi-front effort,” he said. “Last week I met with the troops in southern Lebanon, and here I see the same spirit-a spirit of initiative, determination, and commitment to the mission. It is this spirit that enables us to continue implementing the principle we established and to maintain the initiative in our hands.”

He commended the Southern Command and the units fighting in Gaza for maintaining constant offensive pressure, pointing to the military’s ongoing effort to track down every terrorist involved in planning and carrying out the October 7 atrocities.

“I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Southern Command and the divisions operating in this sector for their initiative, determination, and sustained offensive approach,” he said. “A clear example of this is the pursuit of the Nukhba terrorists and everyone involved in planning and carrying out the October 7 massacre.”

Zamir stressed that bringing the perpetrators of the massacre to justice remains a permanent obligation for the IDF, saying the victims continue to guide the military’s mission.

“The images from the communities, the Bibas family, the surveillance soldiers, and all the victims of the October 7 massacre are before our eyes every day,” Zamir said. “We will continue to pursue those responsible, and we will not relent until we bring every person who played a part in the massacre to justice-sooner or later. This is a permanent and ongoing mission.”

Closing his remarks, Zamir reaffirmed the military’s commitment to safeguarding the residents of communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, saying the IDF will continue strengthening security and maintaining a forward defensive posture.

“We must continue acting to protect the residents of the communities near the Gaza Strip,” he said. “Your protection and security are our mission-we will continue working to strengthen security. We have fundamentally changed the security reality, and we will continue to act to ensure that the IDF remains at the front, protecting the communities and their residents and safeguarding their security.”