At a meeting of the security cabinet that began at 11:00 pm on Friday evening and ended after three hours, defense establishment representatives were unanimous in saying that Operation Breaking Dawn in the Gaza Strip had achieved its objectives, and that these achievements should be preserved as the end of the current round of fighting came into view. The IDF reported that it had wiped out the senior echelon of Islamic Jihad’s military wing, and that the organization’s morale had been severely weakened. Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director Ronen Bar said that the fact that Hamas had not joined in with Islamic Jihad had broadened the dispute between the two organizations and driven a wedge between them.
Bar said that there were those in Islamic Jihad who were accusing Hamas of "selling" its people to Israel. He warned, however, that at this stage Islamic Jihad would find it hard to agree to a ceasefire since it had no substantial achievement to show. The cabinet also heard that Iran had promised the organization that it would help it to restore its military capabilities.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz released a joint statement following the announcement of the IDF spokesperson that IDF and the Israel Security Agency had eliminated Islamic Jihad’s southern commander Khaled Mansour. Lapid said it had been a joint intelligence and operational effort, and expressed appreciation for "Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, the chief of staff, the head of the Shin Bet, and the thousands of people under their command. We are acting in a focused and responsible way in order to minimize casualties among non-combatants. The operation will continue for as long as necessary."
"Anyone who seeks to harm citizens of Israeli will be harmed. The IDF, Shin Bet, and security forces will continue to act against Islamic Jihad until we restore quiet and remove the threats to children in the Gaza border area. I wish to applaud the IDF under the leadership of the chief of staff and the Shin Bet under the leadership of Ronen Bar for the great efforts made to pereserve Israel’s security."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 7, 2022.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2022.