A delegation from the Egyptian general intelligence service held secret talks in Israel on Thursday that focused on Gaza, Israeli officials told Channel 13 News’ Barak Ravid on Friday.
According to Ravid, the Egyptians are concerned that the political instability in Israel and the possibility of a third election will lead to another escalation in Gaza, as was the case before the last elections just a few weeks ago, that could deteriorate into a wide scale operation or a war.
The most recent rocket attacks on southern Israel took place days before last week’s election, when terrorists from the Gaza Strip fired three rockets at Israel which exploded in communities in the Gaza envelope, causing damages but no physical injuries.
In retaliation, IDF fighter jets attacked a number of terrorist targets in a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization.
A day earlier, Red Color sirens were heard in the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon and in the industrial areas near the two cities. Two launches were identified from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory and were intercepted by the Iron Dome.
At the time of the sirens, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was in the middle of a speech at a political conference in Ashdod. The speech was stopped, Netanyahu was taken off the stage and the participants were evacuated.
Following that incident, it was reported that Netanyahu planned to conduct a widescale military operation in Gaza, but was stopped by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
According to the report, Mandelblit said such an operation requires the approval of the cabinet.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)