Israel is ready for a large-scale operation in Gaza if necessary, Housing and Construction Minister Yoav Gallant, a retired IDF major-general, said at The Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday

“Let me say it to be clear: [Hamas leader in Gaza] Yihya Sinwar’s time is limited. He won’t finish his life in an old-age home,” Gallant said.

According to the minister, Hamas is at a “very dramatic junction,” in which it has to recalculate whether it wants to fight Israel or keep the calm of the past week.

“Look at what Israel did in the past 10 years: We closed off the sea, we closed maneuvering on the ground from Gaza and Sinai," Gallant said. "I think the Iron Dome [missile defense system] is doing a pretty good job against missiles; we are in a phase of eliminating all the tunnels [from Gaza into Israel]. If they want a fight, we will defeat them. If they want to behave and talk through a third party, we will hear them,” he said.

Still, Gallant expressed certainty that “there will be another large campaign in Gaza,” but that Israel will determine when and how it will happen, not Hamas.

“I won’t say what we’re going to do,” he added. “It’s better to talk about operations after you launch them, not before... We will prevail, Hamas will pay the price.”

War, he said, “is the last option,” a worst-case scenario.

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Gallant also criticized Avigdor Liberman for resigning from the Defense Ministry, saying “it was a very poor decision and I believe that it was done for political reasons and not for national, military and security reasons.