Hamas’s military branch has been “defeated militarily and tactically,” outgoing Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said last week, according to leaked recordings of his remarks aired by Israel’s Channel 12 News on Sunday.

In a meeting on Friday with heads of regional councils in southern Israel to present the military’s internal findings regarding the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, Halevi noted however that more work remained to be done.

“Hamas still has capabilities. We must not stop here. We need to continue and harm [it]. A buffer security zone is required and must be held strongly,” he said, emphasizing that “under no circumstances will we [withdraw] communities backwards [from the Gaza border].”