Tel Aviv, Nov 15 (IANS): War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz says Israel will hunt down Hamas leaders "in Gaza and around the world".

"There will be no sanctuary cities, no sanctuary houses. We will go wherever we need to in order to eradicate child murderers -- above and below ground. In Gaza and around the world. We will reach the heads of government just as we reached the centres of government," Gantz said in a Tel Aviv statement to the press.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are currently operating in a portion of Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, where Israel and the US say Hamas has military infrastructure, The Times of Israel reported.

"IDF soldiers continue to operate deep inside Gaza City against those who have turned hospitals into command centres, from which war crimes are committed," he added.

Turning to the Israel's increasingly tense front with Lebanon, Gantz warns that "what we're doing effectively in the south, can work even better in the north, if necessary".