IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Tuesday said it was his duty to present “the risks and opportunities” of military operations to the political leadership, in an apparent defense of his reported objection in the cabinet to a major offensive in Gaza City.

As the military launched its new offensive against Hamas, Zamir said, “The IDF is the people’s army, that is its source of strength. The IDF serves the people and acts for its sake,” in a video statement.

“As commander of the army, it is my duty to present before every operation all the possible security implications. All the risks and opportunities were presented to the political echelon clearly and professionally. This is my duty, and under this I lead the operation, together with an excellent and experienced echelon of commanders in order to meet all the objectives responsibly and securely,” he said.

Zamir emphasized that the return of the hostages “is a war aim and a national and moral commitment,” amid concerns by the families of those held captive by the terror group that the operation will risk their lives.

“In the past day, after extensive discussions with the political echelon, the IDF has significantly deepened the operation in the city of Gaza. We are operating in the depths of the territory, combining ground forces, precise fire, and quality intelligence. Our aim is to deepen the blows to Hamas until its defeat,” he said.

“All our operations are carried out according to an orderly plan, with the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas before our eyes,” Zamir said.

Ahead of the operation, Zamir was reported to have objected to the capture of Gaza City, which was ultimately ordered by Israel’s political leadership. He also repeatedly urged ministers to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

Zamir said Tuesday that Hamas had been dealt severe blows from Israel. “We have defeated the main part of its military power, and now we are deepening the achievements that will allow us to bring the end of the war closer,” he said.

Regarding accusations of war crimes in Gaza, Zamir said, “The IDF operates according to international law, we are doing our utmost to prevent harm to civilians.”

“In this campaign, we are acting in order to defeat a terror organization that declares from every platform that its goal is to eliminate the existence of the State of Israel,” he added.

Speaking from the IDF command bunker at the Kirya in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted Israel’s efforts to protect civilians as Israeli forces moved in.

“Our forces are operating in Gaza City with the aim, of course, of achieving the defeat of the enemy, while also working to evacuate the civilian population,” he said in a video released by his office.

“We are currently making efforts to open additional routes to enable a faster evacuation of the Gazan population, to separate them from the terrorists whom we aim to strike.”

Separately, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the military will “do its best” to safeguard the hostages during its offensive against Hamas in Gaza City.

Responding to a question at a press conference on how the IDF intends to fight in Gaza City after Hamas published footage showing hostages being held in the area, Defrin said: “We are aware of the concerns of the hostages’ families, we will do our best to avoid harming the hostages.”

Hamas has previously threatened to execute hostages if IDF troops approach the areas where they are being held, and family members have expressed extreme concern for the fate of the captives amid the offensive.

Defrin, speaking to the press at the Gaza border, accused Hamas of not allowing Palestinian civilians to leave Gaza, saying, “Hamas set up in Gaza City the largest human shield in history.”

“It exploits the civilian population as a human shield. It prevents them from evacuating from combat zones, while using violence,” he said, adding that the IDF is enabling civilians to leave “for their protection.”

Defrin said the IDF estimates that over 350,000 Palestinians have left Gaza City in recent weeks to other areas of the Strip. He said that “in accordance with international law,” the IDF has “adapted the humanitarian efforts” for Gazans leaving Gaza City.

“There will be no starvation in Gaza; humanitarian aid will also be delivered to northern Gaza,” he said.

Israel has strenuously contested accusations that there is famine in Gaza, emphasizing that it makes efforts to deliver aid to Gaza’s civilians. It has accused the United Nations of delays in delivering aid and charged Hamas with stealing the supplies.

Defrin said the military is currently in control of “widespread” areas in Gaza City, following “intensive IDF activity in recent weeks in the Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods and Jabalia.”

“These actions brought about the operational conditions to deepen the fighting inside Gaza City,” he said, referring to the army’s new ground offensive.

IDF footage shows troops filing into Gaza

The military, meanwhile, released footage showing troops of the 98th Division rolling into Gaza City Monday night, when the ground operation began.

The military said the troops entered the city with support from the Israeli Air Force and Navy, with dozens of “terror infrastructures” being struck, including observation posts and booby-trapped buildings.

The division, an elite formation of paratroopers and commando units, joined the 162nd Division, which was already operating on the outskirts of Gaza City.

In the coming days, a third division, the 36th, will join the Gaza City offensive, according to the IDF.

Gaza health officials reported at least 70 people had been killed on Tuesday, most of them in Gaza City, as massive airstrikes swept across the city and tanks advanced.

The figures could not be independently verified. Health and rescue services in the Gaza Strip are tied to Hamas, and their numbers do not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Where a missile had destroyed two multi-story residential buildings during the night, people clambered over an immense mound of dislocated concrete to pry out victims, footage obtained by Reuters showed. A woman cried as a small child’s body was pulled from the wreckage, hastily wrapped in a green blanket, and carried away.

Abu Mohammed Hamed said several of his relatives had been wounded or killed, including a cousin whose body was trapped by a concrete block: “We don’t know how to take her out. We have been working on it since 3 a.m.”

An AFP journalist saw many people, including children, sleeping in front of a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday after fleeing from their homes.

“The people do not have money to move to the south or even to move internally,” said Youssef Shanaa, who had taken refuge at a hospital.

People spoke of relentless bombing in Gaza City, much of which is already in ruins after nearly two years of Israeli strikes.

Only huge piles of rubble remained of a residential block in the north of the city, hit by overnight bombing.

“Why kill children sleeping safely like that, turning them into body parts?” said Abu Abd Zaquout. “We pulled the children out in pieces.”

Ismail Zaydah, 39, said he fled from his home in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood to an area near the coastal road. He said trucks carrying people south to an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone charge around $1,000, even as many families in Gaza City are starving.

“We fled with nothing but a few pieces of clothing. People are pitching their tents in western Gaza City, and they are sleeping among human waste because there is no place for them to go,” he said.

The ongoing war began when Hamas-led terrorists rampaged through southern communities on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 48 hostages, including 47 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, while there are grave concerns for two others.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 64,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it had killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

Israel says it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 465.