Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene the security cabinet, and then all ministers later Friday morning at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv to brief them on the ground offensive.
The decision to begin the ground offensive was taken after it became clear to Jerusalem that ceasefire efforts in Egypt were leading nowhere. The security cabinet approved a ground offensive in principle on Tuesday, after Hamas rejected that day’s Egyptian ceasefire proposal, Israeli diplomatic sources say.
The declared aim of Operation Protective edge remains restoring calm for the citizens of Israel, the sources say.
The prime minister’s goal is absolutely not the reconquest of the Strip and the ousting of Hamas, they add.
Israeli officials believe the restraint displayed by Netanyahu over the past 10 days has produced empathy and support overseas. The US did not want to see a ground offensive but did not seek to veto it, the sources say. There is also considerable support within the EU.
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From the Liveblog of
Friday, July 18, 2014
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