Minister Moshe Yaalon (Likud) said Sunday that Israel does not intend to maintain restraint in the face of the intense rocket attacks from Gaza.
"If the terror organizations do not cease their fire we will be prepared to toughen our response as much as necessary, until they say 'enough!'," he said.
"There is a complicated war here, and in the end we will finish it," he said. "This is not a one-off move. But we will put an end to it. We do not intend to maintain restraint because the situation is unbearable for us."
"We will bring quiet to the south even if it takes some time," he said. "Hamas's leadership will not get off scot free and as far as we are concerned, the most extreme options are possible."
Channel 2's political reporter quoted unnamed senior sources in Jerusalem Sunday who said that a ground operation like Cast Lead is not possible because Israel "does not have legitimacy" to act against Gaza as long as relatively few Israelis are killed and wounded by the terrorists. He added that Mohammed Morsi's election in Egypt and Barack Obama's re-election in the U.S. also make the situation more difficult for Israel.