Security cabinet to IDF: Take ‘strong action’ against Hamas

Israeli leaders met on Thursday evening to strategize a response to attacks from the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

By: AP

Israel’s prime minister convened his security cabinet late Thursday to plan a response to a new burst of violence with Gaza terrorists, ordering the army to take unspecified “strong action” as the military reinforced units along the border ahead of a possible escalation.

Fighting showed few signs of slowing. Late on Thursday, the IDF flattened a Hamas compound Israel alleges is a military base, as terrorists fired rockets toward Israel throughout the evening.

In all, Israel carried out dozens of airstrikes during the day, while Palestinian terrorists fired scores of rockets into Israel, wounding seven people.

The flare-up came as Egypt continued efforts to broker a long-term cease-fire between the two sides.

Israel’s Channel 10 TV said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed the meeting of his Security Cabinet by two hours to allow the Egyptians to press forward with their work.

After a four-hour meeting, the Cabinet issued a short statement, saying it had directed the army “to continue taking strong action against the terrorist elements.”

It did not elaborate. But shortly before the meeting, Netanyahu and his defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, met with top military officials to discuss their options.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing closed consultations, said Netanyahu instructed the army to prepare for “every possibility.”

Israeli ground troops ready to deploy

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said Israel had “ground troops that are ready to deploy. We are reinforcing the southern command and Gaza division.” He wouldn’t comment on Israeli media reports of troops preparing for a possible ground operation.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic terror group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Despite the animosity, the enemies have signaled, through their contacts with Egypt, that they want to avoid another war.

Hamas is demanding the lifting of an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade that has devastated Gaza’s economy, while Israel wants an end to rocket fire, as well as recent violent riots and arson terror using incendiary balloons and kites, and the return of the remains of two dead soldiers and two Israelis believed to be alive and held by Hamas.

Thursday’s fighting, however, brought back memories of the most recent war, in 2014. Air raid sirens wailed in southern Israel overnight and throughout the day, sending families scrambling into bomb shelters, canceling outdoor summer cultural events and forcing summer camps indoors. The Israeli air force, meanwhile, pounded targets across Gaza.

A Palestinian rocket struck the southern city of Beersheva late in the afternoon, landing in an open area. It was the first time a rocket had hit the city since the 2014 war.

The Israeli military said it struck some 200 targets throughout Gaza, including Hamas command posts and weapons production and storage facilities. It said a similar number of rockets and mortars were fired at Israel.

The military said it intercepted some 30 rockets, while most of the others landed in open areas.

Hamas’ ‘unprovoked terrorist attack’

At the United Nations, Israel’s ambassador, Danny Danon, urged the secretary-general and U.N. Security Council to condemn Hamas militants for what he called “the unprovoked terrorist attack” on southern Israel.

Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. Mideast envoy, said he was “deeply alarmed” and appealed for calm. He said the situation “can rapidly deteriorate with devastating consequences for all people.”

Israel and Hamas have engaged in several bouts of fighting this month. The latest round erupted Tuesday, when the Israeli military struck a Hamas military post in Gaza after it said militants fired on Israeli troops on the border. Hamas said two of its fighters were killed after taking part in a gunfire parade inside a militant camp.

The incident occurred while a group of senior Hamas leaders from abroad were visiting Gaza to discuss the ceases-fire efforts with local leaders.

A top Hamas official told The Associated Press that the group waited for the delegation to leave Gaza before responding with rocket fire late Wednesday.

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