Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivered a short statement Thursday evening after a lengthy session of the Security-Diplomacy cabinet, which was devoted to Operation Protective Edge against Hamas's terror machine in Gaza.
"The campaign is proceeding as planned,” he said, “but additional stages await us. We have struck Hamas and the sons of terror forcefully, and as the campaign wears on, we will deepen the damage to them.”
Netanyahu thanked the IDF and Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet), for their operational activity. “They are making every effort to avoid hitting civilians, and if civilians are hit, it is only because Hamas purposely hides behind Palestinian civilians,” he explained.
The security establishment has successfully foiled numerous terror attacks on Israel, he said, “but a difficult, complex and complicated campaign lies ahead.”
He called on Israeli citizens to continue and display the civilian fortitude that is “a central pillar in our ability to carry on with the operation until our work is done, and we bring peace and quiet back to the cities of Israel.”
"The most important thing for me, for all of us,” he added, “is to protect the lives of all Israeli citizens, and for that purpose, we all work together.”