Israel’s army chief visited troops near the border with the Gaza Strip on Monday, declaring that the army is “finding its footing” after facing the challenge of a surprise attack by Hamas, even as defensive operations against terrorists continue. within Israel.

“After a rough start, we’re shaping the line of engagement. We hit a lot of terrorists — whoever comes near is killed”IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herchi Halevi said during the meeting earlier Monday, the military says.

“We’re going to finish clearing the area so we don’t have terrorists here, and at the same time we’re already on the offensive,” he says.

“We have many more tasks. We must be strong. It started badly and it will end very badly for the other side” he interpreted.

Israeli tanks and troops deployed south into Gaza over the weekend to regain control of Israeli cities and evacuate civilians, while 100,000 reservists gathered in the area. At the same time, the Israeli air force is pounding settlements in Gaza.

The Israeli military announced that in an unprecedented move, it called 300,000 reservists and that he imposed total exclusion of the Gaza Strip, signs that he could be planning a ground offensive in order to deal a complete blow to Hamas.