Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference for foreign media at his office in Jerusalem that "the cabinet instructed the IDF to neutralize the two Hamas strongholds in Gaza and the central camps. This is the best way to end the war and quickly." According to him, "We will allow the civilian population to leave the combat zones to secure areas - where they will receive food and medicine." Netanyahu added that "The policy throughout the war has been to prevent a humanitarian disaster."