The Commander of the IDF's 162nd Armor Division, also known as the "Steel Formation," Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, on Wednesday, summed up the five days that have passed since the beginning of the IDF's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. He opened his statements by stating: "On the 7th of October, Hamas chose to go to war. On that day, forces from the division came from every place they were to save lives. During the first two days, we tried to save lives in the villages, and we did everything to do so. We lost those dear to us, among them the commander of the Nahal Brigade, the commander of the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit and his deputy, two squadron commanders, and another 28 dear soldiers. After one day, we began an important task, which was to prepare for what we're doing now. Five days, we received an important objective - to go and defeat Hamas." "We are in the midst of the war, and the division's forces are deep in the strip, on the gates of Gaza City. Over the past two days, I met soldiers and commanders who are bravely fighting shoulder to shoulder, understand their mission, and are engaging the enemy," Cohen added. He continued: "We went to war to grab the hands of Hamas, who chose to grab our throats. We will win. The objective is long, and we have the strength and support in the world to do it. We dismantled a lot of Hamas's capabilities; we struck strategic facilities, we completely dismantled their explosives system, their underground system, and other systems." We believe in our way, in our mission, and understand that this is a war on Israel's existence," he concluded. Related articles: Israel preparing for resumption of war with greater force 'Serious flaws' in the making of a documentary about Gaza war I never said the 'Shema' - until I was abducted Bibas murders = pure evil