Netanyahu vows Hamas will pay ‘very heavy price’ as Israel pounds Gaza tunnels

The Israeli military pounded northern Gaza with heavy artillery and conducted extensive airstrikes Friday in efforts to destroy a vast network of tunnels used by Palestinian extremists, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the campaign “will continue as long as necessary” — since “the last word has not been said.”

Paving the way for a possible ground invasion, the Israel Defense Forces has called up 9,000 reservists and massed troops along the border as the fighting with Hamas and Islamic Jihad entered its fifth day. The operation will persist, according to Netanyahu, who said in a video statement that Israel would “extract a very heavy price from Hamas,” the Jerusalem Post reported.