Netanyahu: IDF’s powerful Gaza operation continues

 PM Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Chief of Staff Lt. General Aviv Kochavi, hailed the “excellent” performance of the IDF, Shin Bet and police force in their efforts to restore security to the country and its citizens. In a joint broadcast to the nation on the eve of the Shavuot festival, Netanyahu said that the IDF operation will take time before its mission is accomplished. Regarding Arab street violence, he said that most of the Arab community were not involved and it would end. He vowed that the guilty would be punished and communal cooperation restored.

Gantz stressed the importance of civilians obeying home command directives for their own safety and maintained that a strong home front nourished the army’s strength and assured the troops of victory.

Gen. Kochavi: “Hamas made its biggest mistake in failing to read us correctly.  By misreading the strength and precision of our response to its aggression, Hamas forfeited most of its missile production resources, intelligence assets and saw its prized broad tunnel system becoming a death trap for its fighters,” the general said. He added: The IDF is strong because its cause is just.