Jerusalem – Netanyahu: Anti-Tunnel Operation To Continue ‘Until All Goals Achieved

Jerusalem – The operation to expose and destroy Hezbollah tunnels crossing over into Israeli territory is “ongoing and will not stop until it has achieved all its goals,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday evening at a joint press conference with Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting called after the launch of Operation Northern Shield, Netanyahu said Iran stood behind a threat of “unprecedented audacity”.

“This operation is part of a regional network of terror and aggression lead by Iran,” said Netanyahu, adding that Israel’s strikes against Iranian forces in Syria had significantly degraded Tehran’s presence.

“These cross-border terror tunnels were built by Hezbollah with direct support and funding from Iran. They were built with one purpose in mind – to attack and murder innocent Israeli men, women and children,” he added.

Alluding to a press conference two weeks ago in which he said that the decision not to go to war in Gaza – a decision that led to the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman – was taken because of strategic threats on the horizon, Netanyahu said that “everything is taken into account with maximum consideration.”

“Just two weeks ago, I said that we needed patience and calm and that there is more to the situation that meets the eye. Today again I would like to say that what you saw now is just a fraction of the overall picture in terms of our deployment and our operations to ensure Israel’s security, on all fronts” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister said both Hezbollah and Hamas had invested enormous resources in their tunnel programs, but Israel, employing technological and intelligence capabilities that are “unmatched anywhere in the world” was systematically denying and dismantling their strategic assets.