The Israeli military is prepared to capture more territory in the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not agree to release the remaining hostages it is keeping in captivity, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned in a video statement on Tuesday.

He issued the ultimatum following a situational assessment and field tour in Gaza, days into a major new offensive dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots,” through which Israel seeks to attack Hamas and seize and retain territory, while relocating Palestinians from the north of the Strip to its south.

The offensive was launched amid negotiations in Qatar for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, which started back up again last week following the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.

Israel had previously warned that it would launch the offensive should no agreement be reached following the end of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region last week. While reports initially indicated that the new talks were moving in the right direction, they hit a wall in recent days.

Zamir said “Hamas will pay a price for its refusal” to release the hostages.

“It will face intense firepower,” he said. “We will expand the ground maneuver, conquer additional territory, clear and destroy the terror infrastructure until its defeat.”

“Hamas only has one option, and that is to release our hostages,” Zamir continued, adding that should an agreement be reached, “the IDF will know how to adjust its activity accordingly.”

“Our objectives are clear: the return of the hostages to their homes, the defeat of Hamas and the dismantling of its rule,” he continued. “We are defending ourselves, and for that we must attack. We cannot defend ourselves only on the defense, without clearly removing the threat from the other side of the border.”

At several points during his remarks, Zamir recalled that Israel had not been the one to start the war in Gaza, but that it erupted when Hamas launched its deadly cross-border invasion on October 7, 2023.

“This was not a military assault, but a horrifying crime against innocent civilians, and act of terror against the State of Israel and the Jewish people,” he said of the attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were seized as hostages, of whom 58 are still awaiting release.

“Since that dreadful day, the IDF has acted with force and determination in a multi-front campaign against enemies whose goal is to destroy us,” said Zamir.

Turning to the Palestinian civilians in Gaza, he added: “We are not the ones who brought this destruction upon you.”

“We did not start the war. We did not rob you of food, shelter, or money. We are not the ones hiding in hospitals or schools. We are not the ones staying in luxury hotels while you live in hardship,” he said.

“This is your leadership, those who are holding our hostages. Hamas is responsible for starting the war. It is responsible for the dire situation of the population. It destroyed, and it will not be the one to rebuild.”

In total, 58 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, of whom 57 were abducted on October 7, 2023.

They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 who are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of three others, Israeli officials have said.

In his remarks, Zamir also reiterated his criticism of controversial remarks made earlier in the day by The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan, who accused Israel’s leaders of sending the military to “kill babies as a hobby.”

Golan had warned that Israel is “on the way to becoming a pariah state” if it doesn’t “return to acting like a sane country.”

Pushing back, Zamir asserted that the military “operates at all times in accordance with the IDF’s values, the law and international law, while uncompromisingly safeguarding the security of the State of Israel and its citizens.

“Any statement that casts doubt on the integrity of our actions and the morality of our fighters is baseless.”

Israel’s “highest moral and ethical duty” is to defend its people “against an immoral enemy, among the cruelest in human history,” the IDF chief said.

He appealed for the Israeli public to “support and unite around IDF soldiers.”

“Together we will fight. Together we will prevail,” he vowed. “Our actions will speak for themselves.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.