[JPost] Israel plans to continue Operation Guardian of the Walls in order to strike at more high-quality Hamas terror targets, even as the US, EU and others pushed for a ceasefire.Among those targets is Hamas’s Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Deif, who the IDF believes it has a chance of killing if the operation continues. Military sources told The Jerusalem Post that Dief had been targeted more than once during the last week of fighting but that he had succeeded at the last moment to get away
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a phone call with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday that Operation Guardian of the Walls will continue until Hamas is deterred for the long term.
"The IDF’s military campaign will continue to the end of achieving long-term quiet," Gantz said, pointing out to Austin that Hamas continues to fire rockets at civilian populations.
Netanyahu similarly said during a visit to the IAF base in Hatzerim that "we will continue as long as necessary to bring the quiet back to the citizens of Israel."
"I am sure that all the enemies around us see how costly it is to attack us, and I am sure they will learn the lesson," he added.
Gantz and Netanyahu’s remarks came as the US continued diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire. Also on Tuesday, the EU Foreign Affairs Council held a meeting on the situation in Israel and Gaza, failing to produce a consensus statement calling for a ceasefire.
A senior official in Jerusalem said that, while the IDF has had major successes in striking Hamas, it has many more targets it wants to hit.
"When this ends, we want Hamas to have taken a really serious blow," the official said, adding that Operation Guardian of the Walls will continue "as long as we think we can inflict more serious punishment on Hamas and degrade their capabilities."