From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Gantz: Hamas built war machine among civilians
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIDF Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz says the IDF will not be deterred from its mission to restore sustained security for Israel’s citizens. He says the IDF would “learn from the incident” and that “the enemy had prepared” for conflict with Israel.
To the “misfortune of Gaza’s residents,” Gantz says, Hamas “instead of building houses, schools, hospitals and factories” had built a war machine in residential areas.
He says Israel mourned the loss of life and injury among Gaza civilians, but emphasized that Israel had repeatedly warned residents of the area to evacuate because Hamas had deployed there.
“We issued warning after warning,” he says, making phone calls, distributing leaflets and more. He said the IDF would make “every effort” to prevent civilian casualties, and that Israel was sending aid into Gaza, and had opened a field hospital on the border. No other army or country would act in this way, he said. But “in the end there is a mission, a moral obligation” to protect the people of Israel.
Overall, said Gantz, the IDF offensive against Hamas was proceeding well, and the soldiers were doing “fantastic work.” He says: “I’m proud of them. All of Israel should be proud of them.”
Hamas was losing “more of its people, more capabilities, more infrastructure” hour after hour. “We will maximize our achievements” Gantz says, and “strip them of their capabilities.” He urged the Israeli public to be patient and stand firm.
The Times of Israel Community.