The military claims it will not give up on the goal of disarming Hamas.

Xinhua News Agency, Jerusalem, February 13 (Reporter Pang Xinyi, Feng Guorui) - The Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, stated on the 13th in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip that the Israeli military will not abandon its goal of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip and disarming the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Halevi conducted a situation assessment in the Rafah area that day. He said the Israeli military is "acting according to the directives of the political leadership while formulating military plans to defeat Hamas." He also stated that the Israeli military is "prepared to shift from a defensive posture to an offensive posture."

In a statement released the same day, the Israeli military said that Halevi has instructed them to focus on dismantling the underground military infrastructure in the Rafah area.

The Israel Times reported on the 10th that the Israeli military is formulating plans to prepare for a "new offensive in the Gaza Strip to forcibly disarm Hamas." The report analyzed that since the Israeli military is no longer constrained by the issue of Israeli hostages, if conflict breaks out again, "the fighting could be more intense and widespread than before."

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mardawi stated on the 12th that as long as Israel continues to launch attacks, the resistance forces will not surrender their weapons.