Gantz promised to be tough with Gaza terrorists in a veiled criticism of Netanyahu’s administration.
By World Israel News Staff
“We will restore deterrence and we will know how to fight,” Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said on Saturday night at a rally in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv attended by 30,000 to honor the memory of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated on Nov. 4, 1995.
“In the government that I will form, we will restore deterrence, by any means available to us. Hamas leaders will be held personally responsible. Hamas headquarters will be destroyed and the time of showing restraint will come to an end if there is not complete quiet in the south,” Gantz said.
Hoping to fill Rabin’s shoes as a tough leader who will work for peace, Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff, as was Rabin, made his remarks in the light of a recent rocket barrage from Gaza
The incident occurred late Friday when terrorists launched two barrages of 10 rockets into southern Israel within minutes.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for any fire from the enclave. The terror group says it’s committed to an unofficial truce deal, but rogue groups like Islamic Jihad and smaller Salafist factions allegedly act independently of Hamas.
While there were were no reports of casualties, shrapnel damaged a house in the southern town of Sderot and video footage showed a car near the structure with windows blown out by debris.
The Israeli military said seven rockets were fired in the first incident and the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted them. Minutes later, three rockets were launched and only one was intercepted.
Earlier Friday, scores of Palestinians mounted violent protests along Gaza-Israel border fence.
In 2018, Hamas launched weekly “demonstrations” in that area, using women and children as human shields for violent rioting that includes snipers, explosive devices, and Molotov cocktails.