Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir recommended to the political echelon on Tuesday that they consider releasing 200 Hamas terrorists trapped in IDF-controlled parts of Gaza in exchange for the body of IDF Lt. Hadar Goldin, which has been held in Gaza since 2014.

"No live terrorist will be released without the fallen soldier" being returned, said Zamir, according to Ynet. All terrorists should be eliminated as a general rule, but U.S. restrictions are understandable, he added, according to the report.

"Israel is not interested in allowing them safe passage, but the Americans, under pressure from mediators, are putting heavy pressure on Israel to allow them to be transported to Gaza in Red Cross vehicles and without weapons," Channel 12 News reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Wednesday that "Israel's policy in Gaza is clear: the IDF is operating to destroy the tunnels and eliminate Hamas terrorists without any restrictions within the yellow area under our control."

He continued: "The goal, alongside the return of all hostages — living and deceased — is the dismantling of Hamas's weapons and the demilitarization of Gaza."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ruled out the safe movement of some 200 Palestinian terrorists from the Yellow Zone in Gaza, under the control of the IDF, to the territory ruled by Hamas.

This came on the back of an earlier report that Israel would allow them to move under the condition that they lay down their arms.

"The IDF chief of staff's position is that these terrorists should be eliminated," said senior IDF officials cited by Israel's Channel 12 News. The terrorists should only be allowed to redeploy to Hamas-controlled areas if the terrorist group returned the eight hostage bodies it was still holding in violation of ceasefire terms, the officials added at the time.

Hamas handed over another hostage's body on Tuesday night, which was positively identified as belonging to 19-year-old Israeli-American Itay Chen. Following the identification, there are now seven remaining deceased hostages in Gaza — five Israelis, including Goldin, and two foreign nationals.

The terrorist group was required to release all of the hostages — both alive and dead — as part of the first stage of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal that went into effect last month.

Hamas compound found near Yellow Line

The IDF reported on Tuesday that since the ceasefire agreement went into effect on Oct. 10, soldiers conducting activities east of the Yellow Line (the ceasefire line) in northern Gaza had located a Hamas compound in the center of the Shejaiya area containing launchers, rockets, and launch positions.

In addition, a tunnel hundreds of meters long and tens of meters deep was located in the Jabaliya area and dismantled. The route was used by Hamas terrorists for prolonged stays and for organizing terrorist activities against IDF troops, according to the military.

Israeli troops on Tuesday killed a Palestinian terrorist who crossed the Yellow Line into Israeli-controlled territory in northern Gaza in violation of the ceasefire, according to the IDF.

The terrorist had advanced on Israeli forces, posing an immediate threat, the military said.

It was the third ceasefire violation of its type in as many days. On Monday, terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and advanced toward troops were eliminated by air and ground strikes. On Sunday, the Israeli Air Force struck a terrorist who crossed the line and threatened IDF soldiers stationed there.

"IDF troops under the Southern Command continue to operate in the vicinity of the Yellow Line in order to remove any immediate threat to Israeli civilians," the military said.

The Yellow Line was established in October as part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Concrete barriers topped with a yellow-painted post mark the area to which Israeli forces have withdrawn. It runs north, center and south through the Gaza Strip, and leaves the IDF in control of roughly 53% of Gaza.

This JNS.org report was republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate.