Jerusalem – IN PHOTOS: After Ceasefire Tens Of Thousands Of Reservists Packing Up

Jerusalem – Following eight days of operations Pillar of Defense, a ceasefire agreement regarding the fighting in the south remains in effect.

Over the course of Operation Pillar of Defense, the IDF targeted over 1,500 terror sites including 19 senior command centers, operational control centers and Hamas’ senior-rank headquarters, 30senior operatives, damaging Hamas’ command and control, hundreds of underground rocket launchers, 140 smuggling tunnels, 66 terror tunnels, dozens of Hamas operation rooms and bases,26 weapon manufacturing and storage facilities and dozens of long-range rocket launchers and launch sites.

Israel planned starting to discharge gradually tens of thousands of reservists called up for a possible Gaza invasion. The first tanks were seen being ferried north, away from the border, on transporters on Thursday.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak today defended his decision not to launch a ground offensive. Barak was also defense minister during Israel’s previous major military campaign against Hamas four years ago, which drew widespread international criticism and claims of war crimes.

“You don’t get into military adventures on a whim, and certainly not based on the mood of the public, which can turn the first time an armored personnel carrier rolls over or an explosive device is detonated against forces on the ground,” he told Israel Army Radio.

“The world’s mood also can turn,” he said, referring to warnings by the U.S. and Israel’s other Western allies of the high cost of a ground offensive.

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