Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant together addressed the nation on Wednesday night to provide an update on the status of Operation Shield and Arrow.
“We have dealt the jihad the hardest blow in its history,” Netanyahu said in his remarks, “but the campaign is not yet over.”
“At this very moment, our forces are strongly attacking [terror targets] in the Gaza Strip and exacting a heavy price from the terrorist organization,” Netanyahu said. “I want to say again: anyone who harms us, who sends terror against us — he will pay the price. This principle has been strongly reinforced in the current operation,” he pointed out.
“New intelligence and operational capabilities plus Israeli initiative combine to create a new equation,” Netanyahu said. “We are telling the terrorists and those who send them: we see you everywhere; you cannot hide, and we choose the place and the time to hit you. We, and not you. Not only in reaction, but also in relaxation. The choice ours.”
“The IDF and security forces have dealt a heavy blow to the Islamic Jihad in Gaza,” Gallant affirmed.
“We opened the campaign with a series of successful and precise attacks, along with thwarting the organization’s leadership, which was done within a brief period of time in a coordinated and tightly timed operation between the IDF, its intelligence divisions and operatives, the Air Force and the Shin Bet,” he noted.
“We have made impressive achievements. The level of coordination, partnership and friendship that exists today between the IDF and the Shin Bet – I have never seen anything like that before in all my years of service. It is a very important strength for the country. The campaign is not over. I hope we will bring it to an end soon, but we are prepared for it to be prolonged as long as necessary.”
