07:15 GMT, January 5, 2009 "I am extremely satisfied with your operation, and we will continue operating in Gaza." These were the words of the Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, during his visit to the Air Force Base Palmahim on Sunday (Dec. 4). During his visit, the Chief of the General Staff inspected the different squadrons and talked with the soldiers. "It is an indisputable fact that you are a very important part of this operation," he praised the soldiers. "We will continue working and I trust you to do all that it takes to give aid and carry out missions in order to make things better for the people who are in the South."

Yesterday, Infantry Corps, Armored Corps, Engineering Corps, Artillery Corps and Intelligence Corps forces continued to operate throughout the Gaza Strip in conjunction with the Israel Air Force and the Israel Navy. In the course of the ground operation, a suspicious explosive was identified and detonated in a controlled manner by IDF forces. In addition to that, three launching squads were discovered in the Zeitoun neighborhood of the northern Gaza Strip. The Israel Air Force also attacked dozens of targets during the day, among them weapon storage facilities, a vehicle with a rocket launching squad, a tunnel, vehicles used to transport weapons, Hamas operation centers, weapon manufacturing sites, about ten rocket launching sites and a group of armed terrorists that were identified while approaching IDF forces. "We will continue operating in Gaza. We continue working towards the prevention of the firing of missiles, and if we need to continue further, we will," added Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi. "That is our duty as the IDF, and that is why we are respected."

Yesterday, in addition, Husam Hamdan, a senior Hamas operative involved in the launching of rockets and directly responsible for firing Grad rockets at the cities of Beer Sheva and Ofakim, was targeted. With him, Mohamad Hilu, who was responsible for Hamas' commando forces in Han Yunis as well as for long range rocket launching against Israel, was targeted. In an additional strike in the Jabaliya refugee camp, Mohamad Shalpoch, a member of Hamas's commando forces who was involved in launching rockets into Israel, was targeted. Since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, IDF forces have targeted dozens of armed terrorists. "We need to be in a place in which we, as the army, can provide safety for the South," added the Chief of the General Staff. "The result has to be a weakened Hamas, stronger deterrence, and much better security conditions in the South." The Chief of the General Staff also spoke about the hard work being done by the Home Front Command: The Home Front Command is doing good work in terms of that, and it seems to me that the overall progress up until this point is worthy of sincere appreciation."