IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi visited IDF artillery personnel in southern Israel. "This will be a long process, and we are at the stage in which we are hitting the enemy hard from the inside as well by entering the Gaza Strip. The IDF is focused on one thing now - victory, dismantling Hamas, and hitting as many enemy commanders, combatants, and infrastructure as possible," he stated.
"Your fire led to the fact that when our forces arrived, some of the enemy were already dead, some were unable to function, and some were still there, and our forces are fighting them. I am happy to see that the soldiers and the commanders are doing outstanding work."
Halevi concluded: "I am preparing you for a long process - we intend on dealing with Hamas professionally. We will do well, we will win, and we will bring security to the country."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the naval base of the southern front in Ashdod. During the visit, he was briefed by Commander of the Navy Rear Admiral David Saar Salama, Ashdod Base Commander Captain Eitan Paz, and additional commanders on the Navy's operations in the war and on the elimination of dozens of terrorists who attempted to infiltrate Israel from the sea.
The Prime Minister then sailed on a Shaldag class fast patrol craft off the coast of southern Israel with navy sailors who accompanied him with several additional crafts.
"You are warriors - lions of the sea. From the first moment of battle, some of you in your communities and most of you from here, you did work that was simply amazing - in battling and stopping their infiltrations. I received reports now, both personal from each of you, and I also saw videos of your amazing work to defend the country. You stopped them and are still stopping them. And you killed them, and you didn't let them in," Netanyahu told the sailors."