(IsraelNN.com) IDF officials were quoted in the press Saturday as saying that dozens of Hamas terrorists died in four days of Israeli attacks on Gaza. The officials said Hamas was under-reporting the number of casualties it has suffered, but that in reality the terror gang has suffered a severe blow. IDF intelligence cross checked and confirmed this report by counting the funerals held in Gaza in recent days.

Military sources said that they had received orders to kill at least 20 Hamas terrorists in the first day of the IAF's renewed Gaza attacks, in order to create a "shock and awe" effect. However, some of the IAF jets' sorties were cancelled because of bad weather.

Most of the attacks in which terrorists died were directed against rocket-launching squads, a short time after they had fired the explosive-laden rockets towards Israel's civilians.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Israel Radio that a large ground offensive in Gaza "did not serve Israel's security."

Military sources said that they had received orders to kill at least 20 Hamas terrorists the IAF's renewed Gaza attacks, in order to create a "shock and awe" effect

Peretz also rejected the option of striking infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, such as fuel, water, electricity and communications, saying such an operation "would cause the entire Palestinian population to unite around Hamas."

He added that the IDF was ready for "operation in any scope that the situation will demand."

"The difference between what happens today and what happened a year ago," said Peretz, "is that each IDF unit knows precisely what its operative mission is, the army is well-prepared for any development in the North as well as the South."

Peretz also attacked former prime minister Ehud Barak, now a front runner for Labor party leadership, for carrying out the IDF's unilateral retreat from Lebanon in 2000 in the way that he did. He blamed former defense minister Shaul Mofaz, for neglecting the development of a system that would finally solve the rocket threat from the south and the Katyushas from the North.

Failing to develop an adequate anti-rocket system was recently cited in the State Comptroller's report as one of the IDF's greatest failures over the last several years.