Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz will issue a joint statement this evening (Monday) in which they are expected to address the conclusion of the "Dawn" operation in the Gaza Strip.
In Israel there is a feeling of satisfaction with the achievements of the operation, which ended in a short time with a minimal number of casualties on the Israeli side and without significant achievements for the Islamic Jihad.
During the Prime Minister's speech, he said that from the point of view of the political level, all the objectives of the operation were achieved. He thanked the opposition leader for the support he gave to the government in its security activities and claimed that the settlements in the south should be properly compensated.
Immediately after the Prime Minister's words, Defense Minister Benny Gantz began summarizing the achievements of the operation: "With initiative, proper operational work, and correct and close coordination between the political and operational levels, we achieved three goals during "Dawn": removing the immediate threat from Gaza, maintaining Freedom of operational action in all arenas and maintaining deterrence while sending a clear message to our enemies in each of the arenas - Israel is determined to protect its sovereignty and its citizens.
"In the last year, since Operation "Guardian of the Walls" which created a high deterrence, Israel has been conducting a clear policy," explained Gantz.
"On the one hand - a strong hand against any violation of sovereignty, and an offensive and defensive effort to thwart in all arenas. On the other hand - a responsible civilian humanitarian policy while strengthening the moderate forces at the expense of the terrorist organizations.
I would like to emphasize - the Hamas organization is the one that bears responsibility for the territory in the Gaza Strip.
Where the responsibility will not be fulfilled - we will act strongly, and use all the means at our disposal - military and civilian.
There is severe political tension between Gantz and Lapid, which originates from the period when Gantz joined the Netanyahu government without coordination with Lapid, who as a result withdrew from Blue and White.
Even today, the two leaders are competing for the leadership of the center-left camp in the elections to be held on November 1.
However, throughout the operation, the impression was that the two were able to put aside their differences of opinion and cooperate.
A political official said this morning in a media briefing that "the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense talked several times a day, and it is also important to note the significant contribution of the alternate Prime Minister."
We convened the cabinet to make sure that our operating principles are acceptable to all ministers.
The work between the organizations was very good - even when there are different opinions it has been proven that the work can be synchronized.
The IDF, the Shin Bet and the police, the MLA and the Mossad worked well together."
In Jerusalem, a list of achievements in the operation is listed: renewal and strengthening of deterrence against the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip;
landing a fatal blow on the Islamic Jihad, most of its military elite was eliminated;
A minimal amount of Israeli citizens affected;
a relative minority of Palestinian deaths, especially of uninvolved civilians;
keeping Hamas out of the campaign and deepening tensions between it and Jihad;
and international backing for IDF activities in the Gaza Strip.
Israel does not intend to release the prisoners of the Islamic Jihad, including Basam al-Saadi, whose arrest ultimately led to the outbreak of the conflict.
The only significant achievement that Jihad can claim is the creation of a link between what is happening in Judea and Samaria and what is happening in Gaza, which may influence in the future the decisions that are made in Jerusalem regarding arrests and offensive activities against the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank.
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