Israel Believes Assault On Gaza Will Be Necessary
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Dan Halutz was backed by members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday in his assessment that a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip will be necessary in the short term. In his briefing to the committee, Halutz noted that Gaza-based terror groups continue to import large supplies of war material, including advanced anti-tank missiles. The aim, he said, is to create a situation like that faced by Israel in southern Lebanon this summer. Former committee chairman and Likud lawmaker Yuval Steinitz urged an immediate and comprehensive air and ground assault to eliminate the terrorist threat before it reaches the level of that posed by Hezbollah. Right-wing MK Effi Eitam told Ynet that judging by Halutz's comments, it sounds as though the IDF is already preparing such an operation. Likud MK Silvan Shalom noted that "after two unilateral withdrawals in Lebanon, we saw that the territories cleared have turned into terror bases," and added that "in order to prevent the same situation in Gaza, the IDF must prepare for a preemptive attack." Gaza-based militants continue to fire Kassam and Katyusha rockets into southern Israel at a rate of several per day, and attempted cross-border assaults are not uncommon. A terrorist infiltration on June 25 that led to |
