Benny Gantz בני גנץ
Benny Gantz בני גנץTomer Neuberg/Flash90

Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited the Gaza Division today (Tuesday) together with Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Eyal Zamir, Commander of the Southern Command General Herzli Halevi, Commander of the Gaza Division Brigadier General Nimrod Aloni and other senior officials.

At the end of the tour, Minister Ganz said, "I am ending a tour of the Gaza Strip. Despite the relative calm, the terrorist organizations are trying to strengthen themselves and we are also preparing for the summer months. The State of Israel is working resolutely against Hamas and Islamic Jihad all the time."

"Gaza also has an opportunity," the defense minister added. "If, instead of developing rockets, Hamas returned the Israeli prisoners and missing persons, we could expand trade and the economy and change the way of life of the residents of the Gaza Strip. Ultimately, the civilians who live there serve as tools in the hands of the terrorist organizations."

"This place, Kerem Shalom, transports goods at all levels to the Gaza Strip and can and should become a bridge to the development of the Gazan economy," he said.

The defense minister later commented on Iran's recent behavior: "We have also seen in recent days Iran's attempts to act to improve its bargaining position in the nuclear agreement negotiations. Many times we do not know what Israel is doing, but I promise no one will cross our red lines. We will continue to act against every threat, together with the new and old partnerships, especially the United States, so that Iran will not be able to develop a nuclear capability."