Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari October 31st, 10:10

Good morning,

Overnight IDF soldiers continued to fight and advance in the ground operations in the Gaza Strip. 

Over the course of integrated and coordinated air and ground strikes, terrorists and hundreds of targets of the murderous Hamas terrorist organization were and continue to be struck.

Last night we also eliminated the commander of the Beit Lahia battalion in Hamas’ Northern Brigade. The types of commanders in question are combat commanders, terrorist commanders, who lead the fighting;  targeting them, hampers their fighting capabilities.

The murderous October 7th attacks targeting Kibbutz Erez and Moshav Netiv Ha’Asarah emerged from the command of the terrorist we targeted. We are focusing our efforts on eliminating terrorists.

Our offensive operations will continue and intensify according to plan.

This morning, in Eilat, in southern Israel, IDF systems detected an aerial target approaching Israeli territory and activated alerts. There is no threat posed to the area. I repeat, there is no threat in this area, and there is no danger. We have a strong defensive posture in the southern area in all dimensions. 

Overnight, IDF fighter jets carried out strikes in Lebanon and destroyed infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

Our policy is clear: we will strike in response to any attempted attack, and we will eliminate any terrorist cell that tries to infiltrate or shoot toward Israeli territory. 

The IDF maintains a very high level of readiness, remains on high alert and is deployed both along the border and throughout the northern communities. 

Over the past few weeks, thousands of Lebanese civilians have and continue to evacuate southern Lebanon -  on their own initiative -  out of fear that Hezbollah will bring war upon them. 

Funerals are being held in Shiite villages in southern Lebanon for Shiites who were sent by Nasrallah to ‘defend’ Hamas-ISIS in Gaza. 

There are many voices heard and seen in Lebanon, both spoken and written, asking why Nasrallah is endangering Lebanon? Why did Hezbollah fight ISIS in Syria and elsewhere, but is now bringing ISIS into Lebanon?

The Home Front

The IDF is continuing to assess the situation on the home front and update defensive guidelines. I call on the general public to continue to follow the guidelines. These instructions save lives and your conduct is exemplary. Just now, during the alert in Eilat, people behaved in an exemplary manner. There is no risk, I repeat, and there is no danger there, but this conduct allows us to protect you better. Your conduct enables us to fight better. We are continuing to manage educational institutions to better allow our continued activities of defense. Instructions appear on the Home Front Command website. We will continue to do so in order to allow routine life to continue in the shadow of the war.

So far, the families of 240 hostages have been notified. As I say this, the number has risen to 240, since as I have explained, identification is complex. Some of the hostages are not Israeli citizens, and the process is complex. It takes time, and the number currently stands at 240 - we have updated the families of 240 hostages.

We will continue to make every effort, and take advantage of every opportunity, to bring them home. So far, the families of 315 IDF soldiers who fell in battle have been notified. We warmly embrace the families and will continue to accompany them. 

As we speak, our soldiers are fighting on the battlefield, fighting with courage and heroism, engaging in fierce, close quarters battles in which they are eliminating terrorists. This type of combat endangers our forces and carries a heavy price, and is complex, but is critical to achieve the objectives of the war. 

The coming weeks will demand resilience and patience from us all - a great deal of resilience and patience. We see the great resilience that the public is demonstrating, and in the IDF we believe that we can all display such resilience and continue together towards one goal - achieving the objectives of the war - returning the hostages, and deal a strong blow to Hamas.