Israeli PM says that Operation Protective Edge is not over; does not confirm or deny reports that Israel attempted to kill Hamas military leader Muhammad Deif; says Hamas and ISIS are "branches of the same tree."
(JPost) Hamas leaders are primary and legitimate military targets in Operation Protective Edge, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday night, as he explained that Israel’s military operation in Gaza is not over.
“Operation Protective Edge has not ended, not for a moment – this is an ongoing campaign,” Netanyahu said.
Hamas is part of a larger network of terrorist groups that Israel has fought for many years, such as Hezbollah, al-Qaida, and Islamic Jihad.
Recently this has also included Islamic State, said Netanyahu.
“We have not given up on our goal to overthrow Hamas and its leadership,” he said.
Israeli citizens should be able to sleep safely at night and their children should not have to run for cover, Netanyahu said.
He spoke just one day after the latest cease-fire fell apart, which was followed by an attempted IDF assassination of Hamas’s top military commander, Mohammed Deif – whose wife and son were killed in the attack. There were conflicting reports on Wednesday with regard to Deif’s survival.
Netanyahu would not comment on the attempt itself, but said more globally that Israel intends to pursue Hamas leaders during this campaign. They are not invincible, he added. [...]
He rejected the idea that Hamas had become more popular as a result of Operation Protective Edge.
“Its more isolated than you would imagine. The whole Arab world is against it,” said Netanyahu who explained that Hamas is a much weaker organization as a result of Operation Protective Edge, both militarily and diplomatically. Israel has dealt Hamas its harshest blow since its creation, he said.
“Who supports Hamas?” Netanyahu asked, answering, “Qatar, Turkey, and Iran.”
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