The IAF began its second day of air strikes against Hamas terrorists who have continued to besiege the western Negev town of Sderot and nearby communities.
A Gaza building near the Karni crossing was heavily damaged by an IAF missile in one of the strikes. Israel Radio quoted an IDF spokesman as saying the building was used as a Hamas operations center and was suspected of being the end point for a tunnel used to smuggle terrorists, weapons and other items into Israel.
A separate IAF strike nailed a terrorist cell just after the group had fired a round of Kassam rockets at Sderot.
Security experts across the board, however, maintain that it will be impossible to stop the Kassam attacks entirely.
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland said in an interview with Israel Radio Friday morning that the threat from Gaza will not fade with time.
Hamas’s military prowess will only improve, as will the range of its rockets, he warned.
“Gaza is a clear and hostile Hamas state in every sense of the term,” he said. “The Palestinian Authority and [PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas are pathetic and irrelevant.”
Western nations consider Mr. Abbas and his Fatah faction to be a moderate force in the PA government. The United States urged Israel early Friday to help Fatah in its fight against Hamas, but Israeli leaders are divided on the issue.
Fatah-sponsored terrorism has repeatedly wracked Israel on both sides of the pre-1967 border over the past year.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Amir Peretz is set to convene the security cabinet in an emergency session by early afternoon to discuss IDF activities in Gaza and the security situation on Israel’s southern front.
It was announced earlier in the day that the cabinet would discuss further plans at its weekly Sunday morning meeting in Jerusalem.
A Gaza building near the Karni crossing was heavily damaged by an IAF missile in one of the strikes. Israel Radio quoted an IDF spokesman as saying the building was used as a Hamas operations center and was suspected of being the end point for a tunnel used to smuggle terrorists, weapons and other items into Israel.
A separate IAF strike nailed a terrorist cell just after the group had fired a round of Kassam rockets at Sderot.
Security experts across the board, however, maintain that it will be impossible to stop the Kassam attacks entirely.
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland said in an interview with Israel Radio Friday morning that the threat from Gaza will not fade with time.
Hamas’s military prowess will only improve, as will the range of its rockets, he warned.
“Gaza is a clear and hostile Hamas state in every sense of the term,” he said. “The Palestinian Authority and [PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas are pathetic and irrelevant.”
Western nations consider Mr. Abbas and his Fatah faction to be a moderate force in the PA government. The United States urged Israel early Friday to help Fatah in its fight against Hamas, but Israeli leaders are divided on the issue.
Fatah-sponsored terrorism has repeatedly wracked Israel on both sides of the pre-1967 border over the past year.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Amir Peretz is set to convene the security cabinet in an emergency session by early afternoon to discuss IDF activities in Gaza and the security situation on Israel’s southern front.
It was announced earlier in the day that the cabinet would discuss further plans at its weekly Sunday morning meeting in Jerusalem.