“The IDF is continuing to act with full force across the Gaza Strip,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated at the start of the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Addressing Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will continue “to act with full force across the Gaza Strip.”
“IDF soldiers are completing the neutralization of the terrorist tunnels. These tunnels would have enabled Hamas to abduct and murder civilians and IDF soldiers via simultaneous attacks from many tunnels that penetrate our territory. We are now dismantling this ability,” Netanyahu said.
“I said at the start of the campaign: There is no guarantee of 100% success, just as Iron Dome does not provide a complete answer, but the IDF actions have impressive results in the field and these actions are continuing at full strength even now.”
Israel ‘Determined to Complete this Mission’
“As of now, we have neutralized dozens of terrorist tunnels and we are determined to complete this mission, with or without a ceasefire, and therefore I will not agree to any proposal that does not allow the IDF to complete this work which is important for the security of Israel’s citizens,” the prime minister declared.
Israeli PM Netanyahu and DM Moshe Ya’alon visit wounded soldiers at Ramban hospital in Haifa on Wednesday following explosion near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/FLASH90)
“Hamas has taken harsh blows from the IDF and ISA. We have struck hard at thousands of terrorist targets: Command centers, rocket arsenals, production facilities, launch areas and hundreds of terrorists have been killed. These achievements and the neutralization of the tunnels are only the first stage in the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. The US, the EU and other important elements in the international community have accepted our position and I must say that this was not an easy thing to achieve but we did it together, with hard work.”
“I would like to express my deep appreciation to the soldiers and commanders of the IDF who are fighting in the field with extraordinary heroism,” Netanyahu said, expressing “special appreciation to IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.”
“We are working around the clock, shoulder to shoulder, sagaciously and responsibly, for the people of Israel,” he continued. “Naturally, we cannot share with the public all of the information and all of the considerations at our disposal. We have an orderly plan and we are acting accordingly.”
PM Speaks to Bereaved Families Daily
“On behalf of the citizens of Israel, I would like to send condolences to the bereaved families,” Netanyahu added. “I speak with them daily, with the parents and family members who have sacrificed what is most precious to them on behalf of our country. I have spoken with dozens of families. My wife and our sons have visited many families as well. I tell them with a heavy heart that their sons have fallen in the most just of campaigns – guarding our common home.
“I would like to say to the citizens of Israel: You serve as examples. Your resilience in the face of our enemies is impressive. It causes deep appreciation around the world. I must say that your strong stand is a national force multiplier that enables us to conduct this campaign in a sagacious and responsible manner, in a way that will give the best possible results for the State of Israel and its people.”
Special Unity Must be Preserved
“A unified leadership is important for the success of the campaign and it is very important for the people of Israel,” Netanyahu stressed. “Unity among the people gives us the strength to continue our hard and responsible work. I have no doubt that this unity provides additional strength to our soldiers who are fighting on the ground. And yet there is a minority among the public which, precisely at these times, chooses to take a more extreme position on this or that side. I say to you: Do not harm the special unity that we have. Mind your words and be careful with your deeds. And, more than anything, government ministers must serve as personal examples for the public at large. At this time, the nation expects all of us, especially government ministers, to unite behind the goal. When our soldiers are fighting the enemy and endangering their lives on behalf of us all, we owe them this. The more we are united, the stronger we are.”
UN Senior Official Accuses Israel of ‘War Crimes’
Also on Thursday, Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, claimed that Israel appears to be deliberately defying international law by attacking homes, schools, hospitals and UN premises.
“Again and again I say we cannot allow impunity, we cannot allow this lack of accountability to go on,” she stated.
Pillay made this statement notwithstanding Israel’s challenge in fighting terrorists who use innocent civilians as human shields – a fact that has been substantiated – and despite the finding of missiles in a United Nations school.
IDF is a Moral Army Fighting a Brutal Enemy
“The IDF is a moral army without peer. It is vigorously fighting an enemy whose brutality is without peer,” Netanyahu asserted. “It tries, as much as possible, to avoid harming civilians. We in the leadership think about the soldiers. Every IDF soldier is precious to us. At this time, on behalf of the entire government and people of Israel, I would like to send my best wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded. We know your bravery and your desire to rejoin your comrades. I have visited some of them. Right now, their doctors are their commanders but we know that they are led by the spirit of the entire nation.”