Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that he ordered the army to intensify its operations in Gaza, stopping short of calling for a full-scale ground invasion.
Following consultations with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz and GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Sammy Turgeman at IDF Southern Command headquarters in Be’er Sheva, Netanyahu said, “We have decided to further increase the assault on Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza. The IDF is prepared for all possibilities. Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing at Israel’s citizens. The security of Israel’s citizens is our primary consideration. Our military is strong, the home front is steadfast and our people are united. This combination is our response to the terrorist organizations that want to attack us.”
Netanyahu went on to say, “We are all united in the mission to strike at the terrorist organizations and restore quiet. The operation will be expanded and will continue until the firing at our communities stops and quiet is restored. I ask that the public continue to listen to the instructions from IDF Home Front Command – they save lives. On behalf of Israel’s citizens, I thank all IDF soldiers and ISA personnel who are participating in the operation.”
Officials warn this could be a protracted operation. “It’s not ‘bang, and we’re done,’” said one official. 300 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel over the past 48 hours, with one reaching as far north as Zichron Yaakov, some 35 kilometers (20 miles) south of Haifa and 120 km (75 miles) north of the Gaza strip.
“Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza are firing rockets on cities throughout the State of Israel – on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheba, Sderot and other cities in Israel. No country on earth would remain passive in the face of hundreds of rockets fired on its cities and Israel is no exception,” Netanyahu explained in a statement to the international community.
“We will continue to protect our civilians against Hamas attacks on them. Hamas, by contrast, is deliberately putting Palestinian civilians into harm’s way. It embeds its terrorists in hospitals, schools, mosques and apartment buildings throughout the Gaza Strip. Hamas is thus committing a double war crime: It targets Israeli civilians, while hiding behind Palestinian civilians,” he added.
Netanyahu also spoke to several foreign leaders, including US Secretary of State John Kerry and German chancellor Angela Merkel. He thanked them for their expressions of support for Israel.
