Israel on Sunday escalated its rhetoric against 'Hamas' and threatened to topple it, while security sources revealed there was an “advanced plan” to resume a series of assassinations against the movement’s leaders.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli army is in the midst of a campaign against what he called “Palestinian terror.”
Speaking at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting, he said: “We are in the midst of a campaign against terror in Gaza. It entails an exchange of blows; it will not end in one strike. Our demand is clear: a total ceasefire. We shall not be satisfied with less than that.”
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told reporters that Israel was "closer than ever" to toppling Hamas in Gaza "if there is no other option."
But he stressed that Israel was not interested in escalating the conflict into a full-scale war.
Meanwhile, an informed security source said that the Israeli army and other security apparatuses have been mulling plans in the past months to resort to past policies of assassinating senior Hamas leaders.
The source said such preparations had started after the Israeli army and the Shin Bet announced their preference for such option instead of engaging in a wide-scale military operation in Gaza.
Tension between the two sides have been mounting since Palestinians in Gaza started regular protests near the border with Israel.
Last week, Hamas announced that a ceasefire had been agreed upon with Israel, and was mediated by Egypt and other regional players.
However, Tel Aviv denied the reports. An Israeli military spokesperson said: “We are not speaking about a ceasefire but about muting shelling under the equation of quiet would be met with quiet.”
