JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel had inflicted its "hardest blow" on Hamas since a 2014 war with a wave of air strikes in the Gaza Strip and threatened to intensify them if necessary.
"In consultation with the minister of defence, the (military) chief of staff and the top security command of the state of Israel, we have decided on strong action against Hamas terrorism," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
"The (military) has struck Hamas with the hardest blow since Operation Protective Edge and we will increase the strength of our attacks as necessary," he added, referring to Israel's 2014 operation in the Gaza Strip.