Speaking to reporters at the end of the meeting, held at Lapid’s office in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said he gave “his full support to the government, the IDF and the security forces.” Netanyahu also praised the residents of the southern communities “for their resilience” and urged them to follow the instructions of the IDF Home Front Command. “I received a detailed briefing [on the IDF operation against Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza]. I listened carefully. I gave some advice based on my own experience, not just for the future [of the conflict]… but also in other areas. And I think these tips can be very useful for the state of Israel,” he said of the meeting. Lapid’s military secretary, Avi Gill, also participated in the briefing. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms The two politicians couldn’t agree on which photo to take of their meeting, Channel 12 news reported, so two snapshots were released — one showing them smiling and the other showing them looking more serious. Netanyahu preferred the smiling one, the broadcaster said. Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has a briefing on the Israel-Gaza conflict with Prime Minister Yair Lapid, August 7, 2022. (Haim Zach/GPO) On Friday the Israel Defense Forces launched a major military operation against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in Gaza in response to an ongoing “specific” threat by the PIJ to target Israeli civilians and soldiers near the border. While the law dictates that the opposition leader receive security briefings from the prime minister – a process that has been followed for years – Netanyahu has refused to comply with the protocol over the past year as he has regularly protested the legitimacy of the outgoing coalition government, led by Naftali Bennett and then Lapid. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters after a briefing on the Israel-Gaza conflict with Prime Minister Yair Lapid, August 7, 2022. (Channel 12 screenshot) Netanyahu on Friday tweeted support for the military in its efforts against Gaza terrorists, though he made no mention of Israel’s political leaders. Israeli leaders said the operation was necessary after the PIJ refused to back down from its intentions to carry out attacks on the Gaza border. After Israel’s initial strikes, Islamic Jihad began firing heavy rockets at Israeli communities in southern and central Israel, with rocket fire continuing into Sunday morning. On Sunday morning, a house in a town in the Eshkol Regional Council was directly hit by a barrage of rockets. The council’s security department said the family who lived there were in their reinforced room at the time of the attack and were unhurt, but the house was damaged. On Saturday a road in Ashkelon, a house in Sderot and a factory in a town near the border were hit by rockets, with no injuries. Three people, including two soldiers, were also slightly wounded in a separate mortar shelling near a town in the Eshkol Regional Council. An Israeli soldier takes cover as an Iron Dome air defense system is fired to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, August 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it had taken 28 people to hospitals since the fighting began, including two people who were slightly injured by rocket shrapnel, 19 who fell after running to the shelter and seven who were treated for stress. The latest figures from Sunday morning from the IDF put the number of rockets fired at Israel by Islamic Jihad at 580. Of those, 120 did not land in the Gaza Strip, with the military saying some of those rocket misses kill at least nine Palestinians. Smoke rises from the site of a reported Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, August 6, 2022. (Said Khatib/AFP) The military said on Sunday that the Iron Dome missile defense system had demonstrated a 97 percent success rate in intercepting missiles fired at residential areas. Meanwhile, Hamas’ health ministry said at least 29 people were killed in Gaza, including six children. Another 203 people were injured, it said. Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report. It’s not (only) for you. Supporting The Times of Israel is not a transaction for an online service, such as subscribing to Netflix. 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