Netanyahu, Bennett at Southern Command
Netanyahu, Bennett at Southern CommandIDF spokesperson

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held security discussions with the Defense Minister, the Chief of Staff, the Shin Bet chief, the head of the NSC and security officials at the Southern Command headquarters Wednesday as the rocket attacks from Gaza continued.

At the end of the discussions, Netanyahu said, " We have now concluded a security consultation here at the Southern Command with the Defense Minister, the Chief of Staff, the Chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Shin Bet. We have concluded our discussions on the next steps. This is a great achievement by the State of Israel to further strengthen our deterrence. The terrorists know that we can target them, and we will indeed target anyone who comes to harm us."

"Beyond that, we have not turned to escalation, but we will know to do all necessary actions we have agreed on to continue to protect the State of Israel and its citizens," Netanyahu added.

He noted that terrorist organizations should now be doubly afraid. "There is a real change in the equation here because now the terrorist leaders and their last activists know that we can reach their exact hiding spots and act against them. It deprives them of this feeling that they can act against us, against our civilians, while hiding behind their civilians. It is a change of the equation because they can all be targeted. It is a very big change, and it greatly strengthens Israel's deterrence and capabilities against the terrorists."

"We are in the midst of a campaign, we hope it will be as short as possible. We are not escalating, but we will do everything we can to restore peace and security to Southern and Israeli residents. I think we are on the right path. I want to congratulate you, the chief of staff, The commander-in-chief, the ISA and the IDF. The commanders and soldiers here are doing a fantastic job," Netanyahu concluded.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett also addressed the ongoing fighting. "We are on the second day of the campaign in Gaza. The achievements are good - the Islamic Jihad's terrorist architect has been eliminated, and there is deterrence, but the long road is still ahead of us."

"We need every terrorist and every terrorist enabler to know that he is carrying a timer for the end of his life. The decision of every person is to decide whether to continue terrorist activities and end his life or to leave terrorism. Islamic Jihad has a similar decision as an organization.

"At the moment, Islamic Jihad seems to want to drag Gazans to much greater damage. It is their decision whether they will drag Gaza citizens and their own residents into this. We hope not, but they will be held accountable for their decisions in the coming hours,” Bennett said