Israeli army gets green light to strike Hamas

The IDF received the green light Wednesday for a series of operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Jerusalem Post reports. This came after more than 60 mortar shells and Katyusha and Kassam rockets pounded the Negev desert in Israel. Israeli army gets green light to strike Hamas The barrage hit communities throughout the South, reaching as far north as Ashkelon and as far south as Kerem Shalom. At least two Grad-model Katyusha rockets were fired into Ashkelon on Wednesday, and a Kassam with extended range hit Netivot. No one was wounded, even though terrorists hit close to educational facilities and homes; however, nearly 60 people, almost half of them children or teenagers, were treated for emotional trauma and anxiety. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday night that he had ordered the IDF to prepare itself to deliver a "response" to the rocket attacks. He said Hamas was responsible and would pay a price. "Anyone who hurts Israeli civilians or soldiers will pay the price in a big way," Barak said in an interview on a Channel 2 talk show. "We will bring the solution, and we will not let this situation continue." Defense officials said the IDF now had approval for a number of operations that would likely include heavy air strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, as well as pinpoint ground operations against terrorist infrastructure. Military sources said a major operation - such as conquering the Gaza Strip - was not currently on the agenda. The officials would not reveal the timing of the planned operations so as not to tip off Hamas, but said that it depended on a number of factors, including the stormy weather in the South. Hamas said it would continue to fire rockets in "self-defense." The group also said it had placed all its forces on high alert in preparation for an IDF invasion of the Gaza Strip. In Ashkelon, one rocket slammed into a home seconds after a father rushed his children from the living room into a bomb shelter. A massive hole gaped in a wall of the living room, which was sprayed with shrapnel. Baby toys lay covered in rubble and dust, and a crib was pocked with splinters and filled with pieces of concrete. In the evening, IAF aircraft bombed a rocket cell in southern Gaza, near the Daniyeh air strip, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding two others. The IDF said it had targeted a rocket squad that was behind Kassam rocket fire on Sderot earlier in the day. "We will not let this continue," a defense official said on Wednesday night. "Our response will come in the right place and at the right time." The ambiguity about the timing of an IDF operation was in line with what Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the security cabinet on Sunday - that Israel would not give Hamas a "promo" of when and how it would respond. However, hints that Israel's response was well on the way could be found in a statement a government official released after the four-hour security cabinet meeting. "Hamas bears sole responsibility for the deterioration in the South. They deliberately undermined the understandings reached through Egypt, and they acted to destroy the calm," the official said, in what sounded like an explanation to the world of why Israel needed to act. "Until now, Israel has acted with great restraint, despite the fact that the civilian population was continuously targeted," the official said. "But this cannot go on." The official warned that "Israel will answer quiet with quiet, but we will answer attacks with measures to protect our people." During the security cabinet meeting, the ministers were briefed by intelligence and military officials on the situation in the South, as well as on plans that had been drawn up on how to respond. A media blackout was declared on the deliberations. The meeting had originally been meant for a discussion of global jihad. However, the escalating violence forced Gaza onto the agenda.

Israeli army gets green light to strike Hamas

The barrage hit communities throughout the South, reaching as far north as Ashkelon and as far south as Kerem Shalom. At least two Grad-model Katyusha rockets were fired into Ashkelon on Wednesday, and a Kassam with extended range hit Netivot.

No one was wounded, even though terrorists hit close to educational facilities and homes; however, nearly 60 people, almost half of them children or teenagers, were treated for emotional trauma and anxiety.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday night that he had ordered the IDF to prepare itself to deliver a "response" to the rocket attacks. He said Hamas was responsible and would pay a price.

"Anyone who hurts Israeli civilians or soldiers will pay the price in a big way," Barak said in an interview on a Channel 2 talk show. "We will bring the solution, and we will not let this situation continue."

Defense officials said the IDF now had approval for a number of operations that would likely include heavy air strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, as well as pinpoint ground operations against terrorist infrastructure.

Military sources said a major operation - such as conquering the Gaza Strip - was not currently on the agenda. The officials would not reveal the timing of the planned operations so as not to tip off Hamas, but said that it depended on a number of factors, including the stormy weather in the South.

Hamas said it would continue to fire rockets in "self-defense." The group also said it had placed all its forces on high alert in preparation for an IDF invasion of the Gaza Strip.

In Ashkelon, one rocket slammed into a home seconds after a father rushed his children from the living room into a bomb shelter. A massive hole gaped in a wall of the living room, which was sprayed with shrapnel. Baby toys lay covered in rubble and dust, and a crib was pocked with splinters and filled with pieces of concrete.

In the evening, IAF aircraft bombed a rocket cell in southern Gaza, near the Daniyeh air strip, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding two others. The IDF said it had targeted a rocket squad that was behind Kassam rocket fire on Sderot earlier in the day.

"We will not let this continue," a defense official said on Wednesday night. "Our response will come in the right place and at the right time."

The ambiguity about the timing of an IDF operation was in line with what Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the security cabinet on Sunday - that Israel would not give Hamas a "promo" of when and how it would respond.

However, hints that Israel's response was well on the way could be found in a statement a government official released after the four-hour security cabinet meeting.

"Hamas bears sole responsibility for the deterioration in the South. They deliberately undermined the understandings reached through Egypt, and they acted to destroy the calm," the official said, in what sounded like an explanation to the world of why Israel needed to act.

"Until now, Israel has acted with great restraint, despite the fact that the civilian population was continuously targeted," the official said. "But this cannot go on."

The official warned that "Israel will answer quiet with quiet, but we will answer attacks with measures to protect our people."

During the security cabinet meeting, the ministers were briefed by intelligence and military officials on the situation in the South, as well as on plans that had been drawn up on how to respond.

A media blackout was declared on the deliberations.

The meeting had originally been meant for a discussion of global jihad. However, the escalating violence forced Gaza onto the agenda.