The Chief of Staff today (Wednesday) approved plans for the continuation of fighting in the Southern Command together with the commander of the Southern Command and the members of the General Staff Forum, in which he approved the attack plans for the continuation of the maneuver. In his words, the Chief of Staff said, "We know what needs to be done, and are ready for the next step."
Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to reports of a total ceasefire and said "From the beginning of the war, I set three goals - the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our abductees, and to ensure that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel. These three goals remain in place."
"In the last week we achieved a very great achievement - the return of many dozens of our abductees. A week ago it would have sounded imaginary, but we achieved it. But in the last few days I hear a question - after the completion of this phase of the return of our abductees, will Israel return to fighting."
"So my answer," Netanyahu said, "is an unequivocal yes. There is no way we will not return to fighting until the end. This is my policy, the entire cabinet stands behind it, the entire government stands behind it, the soldiers stand behind it, the people stand behind it - this is exactly what we will do."
