Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

"Cast Lead" has dealt Hamas a severe blow: hundreds of terrorists killed, dozens of headquarters and ammunitions dumps destroyed, tunnels collapsed, capability to manufacture weapons impaired. Hamas leaders have abandoned the civilian population of Gaza, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Hamas still maintains the capacity and will to engage in terrorism. With Iranian assistance, Hamas has extended the reach of its missile strikes to threaten close to one million Israelis. And by using mosques, other public institutions and even private homes as arsenals and bases of operation, Hamas has effectively taken the Palestinians of Gaza hostage – cowardly using them as human shields. (Notwithstanding, an estimated 88% of those killed during "Cast Lead" have been bona fide combatants.)

Israel must persist in order to achieve its stated objectives: to significantly disable the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas and produce lasting change in the security predicament affecting residents of southern Israel. No sovereign nation would tolerate the daily targeting of its people. For this reason, the Government has authorized the expansion of "Cast Lead" – including the entry of armored and infantry forces, and the call-up of reserves, for the possible intensification of the campaign.

While Israel has no intention of governing Gaza, Operation "Cast Lead" must continue for the time being as the IDF acts to gain control over areas from which rockets are being launched on Israeli towns. At the same time, Israel remains in dialogue with the international community in order to achieve its goals.

Israel was forced to take action after all attempts – over many years – to bring an end to terror attacks from Gaza were unsuccessful. Hamas abused its truce with Israel not only to keep firing missiles against the civilian population, but also to stockpile weapons and prepare for a confrontation with the IDF. Still, Israel is not an enemy of the Palestinian residents in Gaza: 400 trucks of humanitarian aid and 10 ambulances were allowed passage into Gaza this week; this assistance will continue. In point of fact, there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip