The Israeli military announced its position on the priorities of the war on Gaza on Friday, contradicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement yesterday. An Israeli officer said today that 2025 will be a "year of fighting," with the focus on the Gaza Strip and Iran.

Netanyahu said, "Returning the kidnapped soldiers is a very important goal, but the ultimate goal is victory over our enemies." The Israeli army announced in a statement today that, "The ultimate goal we are carrying out is our moral duty to return the kidnapped soldiers. The second goal is to defeat Hamas. We are working to advance both goals, foremost among them the return of the kidnapped soldiers."

Earlier this week, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir stated that "the two missions of the war are linked," even though it has been proven since the beginning of the war that these two missions are contradictory.

Israeli Army Radio noted today that Netanyahu's position on the war's priorities expressed yesterday is closer to that of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who declared that "the kidnapped soldiers are not the war's most important target."

Meanwhile, Israeli media quoted an army officer today as saying that this year will be a "year of fighting," with the focus on the Gaza Strip against Hamas and Iran. He added that the "two most important tasks of the Israeli army are returning the kidnapped soldiers and eliminating Hamas."

The officer added that the Israeli army has killed more than 400 Palestinian fighters since the resumption of the war on Gaza on March 18, and has attacked thousands of "terrorist targets."

According to the same officer, Zamir's position on humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip "has not changed. The Israeli army will allow the distribution of aid, but it will not distribute it itself." He claimed that "the army will not allow famine in the Gaza Strip," even though famine has already occurred due to the blockade of aid entering the Strip since the resumption of the war, according to international relief organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.

The officer addressed the situation in the West Bank. According to him, there has been a decline in armed attacks, and cooperation between the army and the Shin Bet security service is "close to thwarting attacks before they are carried out." He added that the Israeli army has killed more than 100 Palestinian militants and arrested hundreds of others since the beginning of the military operation in the northern West Bank.

Regarding Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the ceasefire began on November 27, the officer said the Israeli army has attacked approximately 350 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon and killed more than 140 Hezbollah members.

The Israeli officer added, threateningly, "The army will maintain its freedom of action and will continue to work to eliminate threats. The military positions it established during Operation Northern Arrows will continue to be used as a forward security zone, allowing operational control and a defensive zone over Israeli citizens."

The Israeli officer said that the Israeli army "will maintain freedom of air operations, thwart threats, and prevent the destruction of strategic weapons in Syria. The military positions established by the Israeli army in the buffer zone, from the southern Golan Heights to Mount Hermon, will continue to form a forward defensive zone."

He added, "The (Israeli) forces present in the buffer zone are targeting the capabilities remaining in this area since the period of the Syrian army's (presence), in order to prevent weapons and capabilities from falling into the hands of hostile parties trying to position themselves in this area."