All Restraints Released, Moving To Full Offense: Israel Defense Minister

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has declared that his country wants to give a knockout blow to the Hamas militants as it "released all restraints" on the its troops.

"I have released all the restraints, we have [regained] control of the area, and we are moving to a full offense," The Times of Israel quoted Gallant as saying said in his address to troops along the Gaza border.

"You will have the ability to change the reality here. You have seen the prices [being paid], and you will get to see the change. Hamas wanted a change in Gaza; it will change 180 degrees from what it thought," he added.

Gallant stated that the Hamas militants will "regret this moment" and Gaza will never revert to its previous state. He said, "Whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors, we will eliminate him with all our might, and without compromise."

Hamas launched the operation Al-Aqsa Storm' by firing thousands of rockets into Israel on Saturday. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters infiltrated Israel by land, sea and air.

The combined casualties from both sides have crossed 3,000, according to a report in AFP.

The Defense Minister on Tuesday visited the IDF's Gaza division headquarters in the Re'im military base where he interacted with Shaldag fighters, paratroopers and soldiers at kibbutz Be'eri, one of the sites Hamas first targeted over the weekend, CNN reported.

"We will be back here, in Be'eri, in a few months, and the situation will be different. We will settle the kibbutz to the last meter, and what happened in Gaza will not happen," Gallant said.

Aerial assaults have been Israel's main method of retaliation in Gaza, where jets have consistently targeted the densely populated 140 square mile coastal area. This relentless bombing has resulted in numerous structures being reduced to debris, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee and overwhelming hospitals with an influx of injured Palestinians.