(IsraelNN.com) IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi says the only way to stop the Palestinian terrorists from firing Kassam rockets from Gaza into Israel is via an IDF ground operation. He said this to the Cabinet ministers at Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting.

"Our helicopters and artillery fire can reduce the Kassam rocket firings," Ashkenazi said, "but cannot prevent them completely."

The Deputy Head of the General Security Service, who was also present at the Cabinet meeting, said that all the raw materials used to launch Kassams in Gaza, except some Egyptian-made explosives, are smuggled in from Israel via the Karni Crossing.

The GSS official also said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists continue to be trained militarily in Iran and Syria.

Olmert: Restraint Will End
Opening the meeting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel will not be able to restrain itself for long in the face of the continued Kassam rocket fire from Gaza. "We have no interest in escalating the situation," Olmert said, "but we cannot ignore the continued Kassams and the attempts of terrorists to infiltrate into Israel."

The Prime Minister said that Israel had warned the Palestinian Authority that though it is not interested in escalation, "we will not avoid taking the necessary steps necessary to protect our citizens living in the south."

Just last Tuesday, on Independence Day, Hamas unleashed a barrage of rockets and mortar shells on Sderot and environs, causing damage but no serious injuries. Intelligence sources say the attack was meant to camouflage an attempt to kidnap a soldier and/or a major terrorist attack in the area.