Accompanied by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the campaign against Hamas will continue.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel is prepared for a prolonged operation in Gaza, with striking its tunnels as the first and necessary toward demilitarizing the coastal territories.
“There is no war more just than this,” Netanyahu told the press at the Defense Ministry compound in Tel Aviv, adding that it had been a difficult day, following reports of fatalities.
Earlier in the day, at least four Israelis were killed when a mortar fired from Gaza landed in the Eshkol region.
In announcing the continuation of the campaign, Netanyahu said that Israelis could no longer live with the constant threat of rockets and tunnels, “death from above, death from below.” Netanyahu, after speaking of the cruelty of Hamas for putting its citizens “in the line of fire,” warned Israelis that “this would be a lengthy operation … until our mission is completed — to protect our citizens, our children, our people.”
Ya’alon added that Israel “will not hesitate to expand IDF action in a way that will harm Hamas,” and that the operation “could last long days until security and quiet is returned to Israel.”
Gantz warned, ““The price is painful, but we remain determined.”
[Photo: IsraeliPM / YouTube ]