Netanyahu says determined to destroy Gaza border tunnels before truce

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pauses during a press conference at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv on July 28, 2014. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was determined, regardless of ceasefire efforts, to c
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pauses during a press conference at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv on July 28, 2014. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was determined, regardless of ceasefire efforts, to complete the destruction of tunnels that Palestinian militants have built under the Gaza-Israel border. -- PHOTO: AFP

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was determined, regardless of ceasefire efforts, to complete the destruction of tunnels that Palestinian militants have built under the Gaza-Israel border.

"We are determined to complete this mission with or without a ceasefire," Mr Netanyahu said in public remarks at the start of a Cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv. "I wont agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to complete this important task for the sake of Israel's security."

Major General Sami Turgeman, chief of Israeli forces in Gaza, said on Wednesday they were "but a few days away from destroying all the attack tunnels".

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