IDF chief says Israel will continue to ‘strike with force’ in Gaza ‘as needed’

IDF chief says Israel will continue to ‘strike with force’ in Gaza ‘as needed’

Despite a ceasefire agreement that went into effect earlier this morning, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi says that Israel will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip as needed.

“The terrorist army operating in the Gaza Strip that hides among its own civilians has witnessed the strength of the IDF and our defense establishment,” he says at a Memorial Day event at the Mt. Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem.

הרמטכ”ל, רא”ל אביב כוכבי, בטקס “דגלון לנופל” בהיכל הזיכרון: “צבא הטרור הפועל ברצועת עזה, המסתתר בין אזרחיו שלו חזה בעוצמתו של צהל וארגוני הביטחון, שהשמידו מאות יעדי טרור, הכוללים מפקדות, מחסני אמל”ח, תשתיות ובניינים אזרחיים לכאורה שהפכו לקיני טרור” pic.twitter.com/0UDR5XpUEx

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 6, 2019
“The IDF will continue to strike with force, as demanded, wherever it’s needed,” he says.

In the last 48 hours, Kohavi says the IDF destroyed hundreds of targets linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, in response to the barrages of rockets fired at Israel from the coastal enclave.

Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “preparing to continue” confrontations with Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.