Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned this Saturday that the war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be "long and difficult" and assured that this is his country's "second war of independence." "The war in the Gaza Strip will be long and difficult and we are ready" to fight it, Netanyahu declared at a press conference in Tel Aviv, in which he added that the Army "will destroy the enemy on the ground and underground," in reference to to the network of tunnels through which, according to Israel, Hamas circumvents the blockade of the enclave. "In the first weeks of the war we launched massive airstrikes that dealt a heavy blow to the enemy. We eliminated many terrorists. However, we are only at the beginning. This is our second war of independence," said the premier.