Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the IDF continues its operations in the Gaza Strip full force and that its objective is returning peace and security to Israel’s citizens. He says Israel will make every effort to bring its missing sons home.
He says the IDF has destroyed dozens of tunnels and that “thousands of targets” have been destroyed and hundreds of terrorists killed.
The prime minister says he sympathizes with the family of 2nd-Lt. Hadar Goldin, that he’ll speak with the family of the kidnapped soldier later this evening, and that Israel “will make every effort to return its missing boys home.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference Saturday, August 2, 2014. (screen capture: Channel 2)
The US and EU’s support for Israel’s operation to defang Hamas is an “important achievement for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu says, adding that the operation has given Israel the opportunity to create “special connections” with states in the region. He doesn’t elaborate which Middle Eastern states.
Netanyahu praises US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Kerry for laying responsibility on Hamas for breaching the ceasefire on Friday.
“Hamas is interested in the suffering of the people of Gaza out of the perception that the world will blame us,” he says.
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From the Liveblog of
Saturday, August 2, 2014
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