GOC of the IDF Southern Command Major General Yoav Galant said Tuesday afternoon that the IDF expects larger scale confrontations with Hamas in Gaza than have been seen to date.

He said, "the (Gaza) strip is a pot that's boiling, with popcorn inside made of metal. We're trying to push down on the cover so that in the end we won't be hurt by the shrapnel."

The major general was speaking at the conference in Ashdod for Aliyah (immigration) and Absorption.