Key points of Netanyahu’s press conference

Here’s how ToI’s Itamar Sharon reported the key parts of Netanyahu’s press conference in Tel Aviv late Saturday:

Netanyahu said the IDF would continue its military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for as long as needed and with as much force as necessary.

“From the beginning, we promised to return the quiet to Israel’s citizens and we will continue to act until that aim is achieved. We will take as much time as necessary, and will exert as much force as needed,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu would not comment extensively on the movement of some troops out of Gaza Saturday, but stressed that the redeployment did not indicate an end to Operation Protective Edge and that the IDF would continue to operate “only on the basis of security considerations.”

The prime minister said that once the IDF had finished dealing with the terror tunnels, it would deploy “according to Israel’s security needs.”

“I can’t tell you how it’s going to develop,” he said. “We are keeping all options for action open.”

Netanyahu said that while Israel had the support of “many important world leaders,” there were others more inclined to tolerate terrorism. “Today it threatens Israel. Tomorrow it will threaten you,” he warned.

Netanyahu said there were some states — “like Qatar” — which had pressed US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a ceasefire but had failed to exert pressure on Hamas to live up to its obligations once a truce was achieved.

The prime minister said he sympathized with the family of 2nd-Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was kidnapped in Rafah on Friday, and that he would speak with the family later in the evening. Israel “will make every effort to return its missing boys home,” he said.

— The full story is here.