'Those who attack Israel' will pay a price – War Cabinet ministers Gantz, Gallant hold situation assessment inside Gaza Strip

Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz (National Unity party) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud party) held an operational assessment of the Israeli war effort during a joint visit inside the Gaza Strip over the weekend.

Gantz and Gallant entered the town of Beit Hanoun in the northeastern Gaza Strip to listen to a situation assessment with the commander of the Gaza Division’s northern brigade, Lt.-Col. Haim Cohen, before visiting troops of the 969th Reserve Battalion.

Against the background of increasing discussion regarding a timeframe for evacuated citizens to return to their Israeli communities near the Gaza border, Gallant stressed that security must be established first.

“Every building from where shootings or launches are conducted, and every source of terrorism, must be taken down so that the residents of Sderot [Israel’s south], may return home in peace, knowing that threatening infrastructure no longer stands.”

Gallant told the soldiers that their actions were well known to the Hamas leaders and Israel’s enemies throughout the Middle East.

“I am sure that Sinwar is sitting in his bunker, watching TV – so he sees what Beit Hanoun and Shejaiya look like. This is also true for the Hamas commanders who are fighting our troops in Khan Younis – they understand how the story of the Beit Hanoun battalion ends. These images reverberate in the entire region,” he said.

“There should be a price for those who attack the State of Israel and those who commit the brutal murder of civilians, women, and children – we must eliminate them. This reflects in the entire region because everyone can use ‘Google Maps’ and imagine what may happen in Beirut,” Gallant added.

Gantz thanked the troops for their service while adding a thinly veiled threat at the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group, which has continually attacked northern Israel since the war against Hamas began on Oct. 7.

“This campaign is one of the most important that the State of Israel has ever conducted; it serves both the residents of the south and radiates to other arenas. I am sure that Nasrallah is looking at what is happening here, and he does not want it to happen in his area,” Gantz said, referring to the secretary-general of the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon.

Both Gantz and Gallant hold seats in the three-member Israeli War Cabinet and are former IDF generals. Gallant ended his IDF service as commander of the Southern Command after his candidacy for chief-of-staff was scrapped in favor of Gantz, who became the 20th IDF chief-of-staff in 2011.