Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Saturday claimed Tel Aviv would have to soon invade Gaza and destroy the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
“If the drip of rockets from Gaza continues, we will have no choice but to go inside [Gaza] in order to eliminate Hamas, and allow the Palestinian Authority to regain control of the Gaza Strip,” Steinitz threatened.
This is the second such threat by top Israeli officials over the past month.
In late December 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened more assaults on the Gaza Strip after the regime’s military launched several air raids on Gaza City.
The saber-rattling comes at a time when Israel has also intensified its aerial and ground attacks against the coastal sliver.
On Friday, 10 people were injured after Israeli F-16 warplanes carried out three airstrikes on the northern, eastern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory.
Israeli forces launched a similar airstrike on the blockaded Gaza Strip on January 22, killing two Palestinians.
The Israeli military also frequently targets Palestinians along the border with Gaza, which remains literally cut off from the outside world by a crippling Israeli blockade.
Attacks against Gazans continue despite a 2012 Egyptian-mediated truce that ended a deadly Israeli onslaught against the territory.
Over 160 Palestinians were killed and some 1,200 others were injured in the eight-day Israeli offensive.
NTJ/HH