The operation is not over — PM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is using all of its efforts to “complete the campaign” against Hamas, and restore quiet in the south and throughout Israel. “We will continue until the goal is reached,” he says.

The best interest of the people is Israel is the only thing that guides my decisions, he says.

Netanyahu thanks the citizens of Israel, particularly those in their south, for their resilience, and offers condolences to the bereaved families.

He says the operation has not ended, “not for a moment,” and reiterates that it is a long process.

Indeed, he says, Israel’s struggle against terrorism “has been going on for years.”

He stresses that Hamas is part of the wider network of Islamist terror groups that also includes Hezbollah, Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad.