WarSclerotic

Israel is continuing with Operation Pillar of Defense to halt Gaza rockets and is prepared to expand it, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the cabinet at its weekly Sunday meeting.

“The IDF has attacked over 1,000 terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip and continues to do so in these moments,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel “is prepared to expand its operations in Gaza.”

Netanyahu said that the IAF’s air strikes in Gaza have inflicted a heavy toll on Hamas and terrorists organizations in Gaza, significantly harming their ability to launch rockets against Israel.

The prime minister also briefed the cabinet on conversations he had over the weekend with world leaders on Gaza, highlighted by a conversation over the weekend with US President Barack Obama.

Netanyahu thanked Obama for America’s contribution to the Iron Dome system that has protected Israeli citizens from rocket attacks, as well as for supporting Israel’s right to self defense.

In conversations with world leaders, Netanyahu said he emphasized that Israel is doing everything it can to preventing harming Gaza civilians, whereas Hamas and the terror organizations in Gaza are doing their utmost to hit Israeli civilian targets.

Netanyahu said that he would “continue to talk with world leaders today,” including a meeting with visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Netanyahu concluded by reiterating that “a responsible government has an obligation to protect its citizens,” and praised the “restraint, determination and the resilience of Israeli citizens on the home front.”

While the prime minister did not publicly discuss a ground operation, Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar told Israel Radio Sunday morning that the cabinet was indeed discussing the pros and cons of such a move.

Sa’ar also revealed that negotiations towards achieving a cease fire had not yet progressed to a point that would justify halting military operations in Gaza.

Accordingly, he said, the IDF would continue its current course of action.

Likewise, Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau on Sunday said that now was not the time for a ceasefire as the IDF had not yet achieved all of its objectives.

Landau said the IDF has a lot of work in front of it to destroy the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza and prevent weapons smuggling.

He said that if necessary, the IDF should launch a ground operation in Gaza to achieve these aims.