Netanyahu and Barak report on Gaza operation

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reported that wave of Israeli air strikes over Gaza Wednesday seriously damaged Hamas's ability to reach central Israeli with long-range missiles amid a major effort to avoid harming civilians. “We are set to expand out counter-terror operation if necessary.” He said. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that most of Hamas’s Fajr rockets and their silos had been hit as well as many other strategic sites. Operation Pillar of Cloud had four objectives, said Barak: restoring Israel’s deterrence; seriously degrading the terrorists’ rocket arsenal; harming their leaders and restoring peace to southern Israel.