Netanyahu warns of significant expansion of ground operation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said at an emergency cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv that he has directed the army to prepare for the possibility of a significant  expansion of the ground operation.

He explained that the decision to launch the operation was made after Hamas continued to fire on Israel even after Israel accepted both an Egyptian cease-fire proposal on Tuesday, and a UN initiative for a humanitarian lull in the fighting on Thursday.

“We decided to launch the action after we tried all the other ways, and with an understanding that without this operation the price we will have to pay later would be much higher,” he said.

Netanyahu said that diplomatic efforts have created a space for Israel to act systematically and with force against the terrorist organizations.

“The supreme consideration guiding us is to restore security to the civilians and quiet to the state,” he said.

“There is not a more moral army than the IDF, and we do not want to harm even one innocent civilian. Not even one. We are operating only against terror targets.”