Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Hamas on Wednesday amid escalating tensions along the border with the Gaza Strip, saying Israel will employ whatever means necessary to ensure its citizens' safety and security.
Israeli fighter jets struck 25 Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after Gaza terrorists fired 45 mortar shells and rockets on Israeli border-adjacent communities, in one of the worst flare-ups the frontier has seen in weeks.
Speaking at a military officers' graduation ceremony in southern Israel, Netanyahu said, "I do not intend to go into detail about what we are planning in regard to Gaza. Our operations there will intensify as necessary. We are ready for any scenario and our enemies would do well to understand that – now."
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who also spoke at the ceremony, said, "Regarding the attack by Hamas, I only have one thing to say to them – that was a mistake."
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot noted that "the events of the past few weeks, on both the northern and southern border, illustrate how volatile the situation is. The IDF is working around the clock and our enemies are all too familiar with our strength.
"We will continue to target those who wish us harm and we will restore security to the south," Eizenkot continued. "I am sure that, with determination and discretion, we will achieve this soon."
The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist groups claimed responsibility for Wednesday's barrage.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Palestinians had "a legitimate right" to counter Israel "bombing with bombing."
Meanwhile, as kites rigged with firebombs continued to be launched from Gaza into Israeli communities, causing extensive fire damage, senior Israeli defense officials said Wednesday that Hamas' threats would not deter the IDF from retaliating over the raging kite terrorism.
"The challenge is to proceed wisely and avoid a situation where we have no choice but to launch a military campaign," one official said.
Twelve fires erupted Wednesday in Gaza-vicinity communities as a result of incendiary kites and balloons.
"The IDF dealt them [Hamas] a blow and I hope they got the message," the head of the Eshkol Regional Council, Gadi Yarkoni, told Israel Hayom. "But if they didn't, then we have no choice. We have to stop kite terrorism and if it means more strikes [on Gaza] then so be it.
"I keep hearing people say flaming kites are not as dangerous as rockets. Well, I have news for them," he continued. "During Operation Protective Edge [in 2014], we sustained 4,300 mortar shells and only five were lethal. Do we really need a few lethal kites to agree that they can be deadly, too? Do we really have to wait for them to claim lives?"
Yarkoni said he has "complete faith in the defense minister and the chief of staff. We have to let them make the right decisions."
"We just want it to stop. How? That's for them to figure out," he said.
