Defense minister says Gaza op will take time

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, in consultation with the IDF Home Front Command chief, Maj. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg, and the director general of the Defense Ministry, Dan Harel, declares a special security situation on the home front, granting the chief of staff the authority to issue life-saving orders to civilians living within 40 kilometers of the Gaza Strip.

The declaration also ensures that employees living within the declared zone will not be fired from their jobs or penalized for missing work.

“We are preparing for a campaign against Hamas, which will not end within several days,” Ya’alon says at a security assessment Tuesday. “Hamas is guiding the current clash to a place where it is able to exact a price from our home front. There is a need for perseverance. Proper civilian conduct has a decisive role in our ability to avoid civilian casualties, and [do] listen to Home Front Command orders regarding proximity to and entry into safe rooms.”

Ya’alon says the army has struck dozens of Hamas assets over the past hours and that the IDF is continuing its offensive “in a manner that will exact a very heavy price from Hamas.”

He reiterates that Israel will not tolerate rocket fire on its civilians and cities and says that Israel is prepared to broaden the campaign, “using all of the means at our disposal to strike Hamas.”

— Mitch Ginsburg