Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is ready to increase its response to rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.
“I can tell you we are prepared to do a lot more. We will do what is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state,” said Netanyahu via satellite to the 18,000 attendees of the 2019 AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.
Netanyahu, who was originally supposed to address the AIPAC conference in person and dine with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, cut short his visit, noting that Israel has “responded with great force” to the latest Hamas rocket attacks.
“In the last 24 hours, the IDF destroyed major Hamas terrorist installations on a scale not seen since the end of the military operation in Gaza four years ago,” he said.
The Israeli leader arrived back in Israel on Tuesday afternoon to meet with security officials at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv to discuss the Gaza situation. Israeli officials said that they have not agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas, and that they are prepared to continue airstrikes.
While in the United States on Monday, Netanyahu authorized dozens of airstrikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket fired by terrorists earlier in the day that destroyed a home in central Israel, injuring seven civilians, including children.
