The army claimed Tuesday that roughly 1,500 dead of Hamas terrorists had been discovered in Israel around the Gaza Strip, as it continued to bombard the Palestinian territory with air strikes.
The army had “nearly completed” evacuation of all the communities around the border, he added.
Hecht said the military had deployed 35 battalions to the border area.
“We are building infrastructure for future operations,” he said.
Israel is suffering from a horrific onslaught by Hamas terrorists who stormed the border fence with a torrent of rocket fire on Saturday morning, killing over 900 Israelis.
In response, Israel has launched a major air and artillery bombardment on Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 687 people so far.
The Israeli military bombed what it said were Hamas targets in Gaza early Tuesday, particularly in the Rimal neighborhood and the southern city of Khan Yunis.