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Combat to continue 'without rest' if hostages remain in Gaza, warns IDF chief
Palestinians gather as they carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, amid a hunger crisis, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 20, 2025. File Image/Reuters
Israel's top general has warned that there would be no break in the fighting in Gaza if negotiations fail to immediately secure the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory.
Army chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir stated, 'I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages,' according to a military statement.
'If not, the combat will continue without rest,' he stated Friday while speaking to authorities within Gaza.
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The Israeli military released footage showing Zamir speaking with officials and troops at a command centre.
According to the military, 49 of the 251 persons who were abducted from Israel during Hamas' October 2023 attack are still in Gaza, with 27 of them having died.
This week, two films of the hostages appearing frail and malnourished were made public by Palestinian armed factions.
Some in Israel have urged for more forceful military action after negotiations to ensure a ceasefire and their release, which were brokered by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, failed last month.
This occurs in the midst of mounting pressure to recommence efforts to broker a truce in the nearly 22-month crisis, both domestically and internationally, including from many of the hostages' families.
Meanwhile, charity organisations have issued warnings that Israeli aid restrictions are causing a devastating famine in Gaza.
Zamir nonetheless rejected these allegations out of hand.
'The current campaign of false accusations of intentional starvation is a deliberate, timed, and deceitful attempt to accuse the IDF (military), a moral army, of war crimes,' he said.
'The ones responsible for the killing and suffering of the residents in the Gaza Strip is Hamas.'
Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.
A total of 898 Israeli soldiers have also been killed since ground troops were sent into Gaza, according to the military.
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Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,332 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.
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