From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 25, 2023
On Gaza visit, Netanyahu receives briefing on terror infrastructure ‘in heart of civilian areas’
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited northern Gaza earlier and was briefed by IDF commanders in the field on the progress of the war against Hamas, as well as the large amount of munitions and tunnels that the army is uncovering across the territory.
“I have two things to tell you: firstly we will do everything to protect your safety, your lives. We want [to complete] this mission but we want to protect you as much as possible,” he tells soldiers he met with in Gaza, according to a statement put out by the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Secondly, we are not stopping. Anyone who talks about stopping — no. We’re not stopping. This was is going to go until the end. Until we finish them. No less than that.
“I know that you have left your families and that the families are supportive, that is something mighty, that is power, that is the key to victory,” he says.
Netanyahu was briefed on the munitions IDF forces find in almost every building in the territory and on the extensive network of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza “in the heart of civilian areas,” the statement adds.
