Preparing for battle?
Preparing for battle?photo: file

The IDF has received authorization to plan, but not execute, a large-scale counter-terrorist operation in Hamas-run territory. Hamas ridiculed the decision and warned against "opening the gates of hell."

Military sources estimate that the most likely scenario is a slow escalation.

Following a very lengthy meeting of the security cabinet Wednesday regarding Israel's response to ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that he has ordered the IDF to prepare for retaliation. The order to execute those military plans, however, has apparently not been given at this time. Dozens of rockets have already been fired at Jewish communities in the south of the country, with the most recent fired into Kibbutz Sha'ar Hanegev, causing minor damage to the perimeter fence.

"The eyes gaze also this morning towards the south," Barak said Thursday at a Labor party meeting in Tel Aviv. "This is not a time for talking. We are unable to accept the situation that has developed there. The only thing that I could additionally say this morning is that anyone who harms the citizens of Israel and the IDF’s soldiers will pay a price."

Military sources estimate that the most likely scenario is a slow escalation in operations, beginning with pinpointing terrorist targets from the air. Details of the cabinet meeting and any operative decisions made remain censored.

Wednesday's cabinet decision has been widely trumpeted by Israeli and global media as a "green light" for a large military offensive in the Palestinian Authority; however, the decision does not change current policy. IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has said several times that the IDF is prepared for military maneuvers against terrorists in Gaza and is waiting for the go-ahead from the Olmert administration.

In a communique, Hamas ridiculed the Israeli cabinet meeting Wednesday, saying, "The enemy is in a state of confusion and doesn't know what to do. Their fragile cabinet has met in a desperate attempt to stop the rockets while thousands of settlers have found refuge in shelters which, Allah willing, will become their permanent homes."

The terrorist organization, currently ruling the PA in Gaza, warned that "any decision to attack the Gaza Strip will open the gates of hell and we will make you regret your stupidity with tears of blood." According to the Hamas communique, its fighters will "put thousands more Zionists in the line of fire" as they will extend their attacks beyond southern cities like Ashkelon.