On a brief morale-boosting trip inside the Gaza Strip, Israeli chief of staff Lt. General Gabi Askenazi also took time to congratulate the troops and warn of more fighting to come.
"The soldiers are doing an extraordinary job. We have made many achievements in damaging Hamas and its infrastructure, its regime and its military wing but there is still much to be done," he said.
There is growing confidence in Israel that its army is on the verge of defeating Hamas and restoring Israel's power of deterrence, something many Israelis believed was dented during the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
From an undisclosed location in Gaza Monday night, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh delivered a speech on Hamas' Al Aqsa TV station. He said Hamas would continue the fight but was also pursuing diplomacy to end the fighting.
"As we are in the middle of this crisis, we tell our people we, God willing, are closer to victory," he said. "All the blood that is being shed will not go to waste."
According to most Israeli newspaper analysts, Haniyeh looked pale and tired. Israel accuses Hamas' leaders of taking shelter in an underground bunker beneath Gaza's biggest hospital, a claim that is unverified.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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