Israel vows to use ‘as much force as needed’
ISRAEL will keep up its military campaign in the Gaza Strip for as long as needed and with as much force as necessary, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last night.
And he said that all options were “on the table” to achieve that mission.
“From the beginning, we promised to return peace to Israel’s citizens and we will continue to act until that aim is achieved.
“We will take as much time as necessary, and will exert as much force as needed,” he said in a public address.
“All options are on the table to return peace to the citizens of Israel.”
He pledged to do whatever was necessary to bring home 23-year-old soldier Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, whom Israel believes was captured by Palestinian militants in an ambush in southern Gaza early on Friday.
“Israel will continue to make every effort to bring its missing sons home,” he said just after the missing soldier’s mother asked that there be no troop withdrawal until her son was found.
He said troops would com- plete the mission of destroying a complex network of tunnels used by the Islamist raiders to infiltrate southern Israel before deciding on the next security objectives.
“After the completion of our activity against the tunnels, the [defence force] will prepare to continue our activities according to our security needs, and only according to our security needs, until we achieve the objective of returning security to the citizens of Israel,” he said.
Hamas responded by vowing it would continue its “resistance”.
“We will continue our resistance till we achieve our goals,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said.
A Palestinian delegation has arrived in Cairo to discuss a new truce in the Gaza Strip. Israel has said that this time it will not send representatives.
The Palestinian delegation, representing the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, will meet Egyptian officials today.
US Middle East envoy Frank Lowenstein is expected to arrive in Cairo shortly for talks on ending the Gaza conflict. — AFP