Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the Diplomatic-Security cabinet in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, for the third time since Israeli teenagers Gil-ad Shaer, Eyal Yifrach and Naftali Frenkel were abducted last Thursday.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz and Shin Bet security agency chief Yoram Cohen briefed the ministers on the latest developments of Operation Brother's Keeper, which has so far seen security forces arrest over 200 Hamas operatives across Judea and Samaria.

Both defense officials said the operational objective was, first and foremost, to secure the three's safe return, while undermining Hamas' infrastructure on the ground.

"We are in the midst of a military and diplomatic campaign," a senior political source said Tuesday. "The prime minister and the cabinet are dividing their time between the tactical and strategic aspects of undermining Hamas. We are preparing for the fact that this might take a while. Patience is key," he said.

According to the official, Israel is also focusing on public diplomacy efforts meant to debunk the partial legitimacy the Fatah-Hamas unity government has garnered internationally. The efforts focus on the anti-Israel incitement prevalent in the Palestinian Authority, especially in the Palestinian education system, which legitimized the abduction and murder of Jews.

Israel is also pressuring Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to dismantle his partnership with Hamas, as otherwise he would be held responsible for the terror attacks its executes from PA territory, the official said.

Following Tuesday's security situation assessment Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said, "The operational an intelligence efforts are ongoing. This is a complex operation and as far as we're concerned it's not limited in scope or time, so therefore it required patience.

"Massive forces have been deployed on the ground to conduct the search, while we continue to undermine Hamas infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. We will exact a heavy price from Hamas over this abduction. We will find the abductors and we will know where to find Hamas' leadership," the defense minister said.

Communications Minister Gilad Erdan was quoted by Israel Radio Wednesday as saying that Israel "knows exactly which Hamas cell" is behind the abduction.

Erdan said the IDF and Shin Bet seek to interrogate as many Hamas operatives as possible to discern the teens' whereabouts. The minister further said that the current military campaign should see Israel "eradicate Hamas."

The cabinet on Tuesday mandated Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to review and pursue various punitive measures against Palestinian security prisoners, as part of the Israeli response to the abduction.

Soon after it was made public that the government plans to exacerbate the conditions under which Palestinian security prisoners are being held, Hamas released a statement urging the Palestinian factions "to unite against the Zionist attack and remain strong."

Also on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke with his German, French, British, Belgian, Bulgarian and Norwegian counterparts, and thanked them for their respective governments' condemnation of the abduction and their "solidarity with Israel's unequivocal position on the matter."

President Shimon Peres also commented on the abduction Tuesday. "Israelis as a whole are deeply concerned about these three boys, who were abducted on their way home. These days, our small nation is greatly united. We see our soldiers, tirelessly searching the Hebron area. We see the families, striving to stay strong and hopeful. We will stand united against those seeking to destroy us and we will not rest until these boys come home."

Netanyahu, who was scheduled to leave on a state visit to Australia on July 10, has informed Canberra that recent security events prevent him from traveling in the near future.