IDF Chief-of-Staff (Lt.-Gen.) Herzi Halevi on Tuesday spoke from the Southern border, saying, "I want to be clear, we are ready to invade."
He added that the IDF is making the decision about the exact timing in coordination with the political echelon.
This second line was the loudest acknowledgement to date of criticism of the IDF and the government for delaying the counter invasion of Gaza since Hamas' October 7 invasion of the South.
Explaining the delay further, he said, "at this stage, there are tactical and strategic factors which are allowing us more time to improve and to exploit every minute to be more ready."
In contrast, he said, "with every minute that passes for the other side, we are attacking the enemy more, killing his fighters, killing his commanders, destroying his infrastructure, and collecting more intelligence for the next moves."
"We are keeping him in tension," said Halevi, suggesting that the longer Hamas waits for the Israeli invasion, the more stressed it will become.
In addition, Halevi cited the complication of trying to return or otherwise save around 222 hostages which Hamas took from Israel.
Is Israel's war with Hamas peaking?
Halevi said, "The State of Israel is at the height of a war which was started by the Hamas terrorist organization. It will regret it, it is starting to regret it even now."
"IDF forces are now in the field and are defending robustly. We still need to be on the ready," he continued.
Further, he said, "I am passing between the different units in the field and am briefing them, and am hearing out the fighters and the commanders."
Next, he stated, "We have trained for this, we have outfitted the troops with quality tools, among the most advanced in the world. But most importantly, we have the best warriors for these missions."
"The IDF and the Southern Command are preparing high quality attack plans to achieve the goals of the war," according to the IDF chief.
"We have trained for this, we have outfitted the troops with quality tools, among the most advanced in the world. But most importantly, we have the best warriors for these missions."
IDF Chief Herzi Halevi
He said that Hezbollah has identified itself with Hamas by joining the fight since October 7, by attacking Israel on the northern border.
Halevi said this shows that Hezbollah is also like ISIS, which many have compared Hamas to this month, and that it's banner as the "defender of Lebanon" is a mirage.