Dan Halutz as Chief of Staff (file)
Dan Halutz as Chief of Staff (file)Israel news photo: Flash 90

Former IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. (res.) Dan Halutz, thinks Israel should mount a crushing offensive against Gaza. He called for a "mortal blow" to be dealt to Hamas's civilian and "military" leadership. In an interview with IDF Radio, Halutz said, "We must bring back our deterrence vis-à-vis Gaza. It has not existed for even one moment since Operation Cast Lead and to this day."

Halutz said that in the end, Israel will have to conduct an extensive operation of this kind, and there is no reason to wait. "A rocket struck an empty school on the Sabbath," he said. "Why wait until a rocket strikes a full school in the middle of the day?"

"This must be dealt with through a strong blow, beyond the expectations of the other side," he explained. "The other side creates equations based on its own preferences and we have to create different equations based on what is good for us."

Halutz was COS during the Second Lebanon War and prior to that, served as head of the IAF. He was considered an innovative and successful IAF chief. However, as COS, he hesitated to involve ground troops heavily in the war, preferring to rely on air strikes. He was blamed for the war's not achieving its goals and resigned in 2007..