Israel says no Gaza truce till Hamas' tunnels are destroyed

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military will dismantle the Hamas tunnel network in the Gaza Strip “with or without a cease-fire.” Netanyahu said on Thursday he will not accept any truce that won’t allow Israel to complete its mission of destroying the sophisticated tunnel network, which has been used to carry out deadly attacks inside Israel. [caption id=“attachment_1643253” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rescue work after Israeli missiles hit targets in Gaza. AFP[/caption] Israel launched its air campaign on July 8 to stop unrelenting rocket fire from Gaza toward Israel. It expanded the operation with a ground offensive on July 17 with the primary purpose of blocking Hamas infiltration attempts through the tunnels. Associated Press