If the attacks from the Gaza Strip do not cease "Israel will act with great force" to quell them, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday during a visit to the headquarters of the IDF's Gaza Division.
The visit took place shortly after Gaza terrorists fired two Grad rockets at Israel. One directly hit a two-story house in Beersheba, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border, lightly injuring six people. The other landed off the coast of a major central Israeli city, causing no damage or casualties.
Israeli fighter jets struck 20 Hamas positions in Gaza in retaliation, eliminating underground infrastructure, Hamas bases, weapon and rocket mills, as well as an undersea terror tunnel.
"I just concluded a situation assessment with heads of the IDF and the defense establishment," Netanyahu told reporters after the meeting. "The attacks against Israel on the fence, against the communities near Gaza, against Beersheba, everywhere, are very serious. As I said to the cabinet earlier this week, if these attacks don't stop, Israel will make them stop, and we will do so with great force."
GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi told reporters that "Hamas presumes to rule Gaza and tells its residents how it is making their situation better. The fact is that the border riots, incendiary balloons and rocket fire only make things worse for them, as they prompt major Israeli strikes."
"The IDF is ready for any scenario and we know how to mount an even more forceful response if needed," he warned.
The escalation in Gaza also prompted an emergency meeting of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet.
During the course of the five-and-a-half-hour meeting, local media reported that Hamas leaders went underground, anticipating a harsh Israeli response to Wednesday's rocket attacks.
Sources present at the meeting told Israel Hayom that the majority of the cabinet members believe that launching a military campaign in Gaza at this time would not serve Israel's interests.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars over the last 10 years, in 2008, 2012 and 2014.
"Our objective is clear – if we can restore calm to the south by mounting a forceful response followed by a [cease-fire] deal, it would be better than all-out war. If that proves impossible, we may be on the brink of another armed conflict," National Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz said.
Regional Cooperation Minister Tzahi Hanegbi noted that any decision on a potential military operation in Gaza would hinge on the situation in the northern sector, which he said was Israel's primary focus at this time. Israel borders Syria and Lebanon in the north.
"We have no interest in an operation in Gaza, big or small, but rather in restoring calm to the area. However, if they [Hamas] take steps that require a painful reminder from us, we will give them the most painful reminder we can," Hanegbi remarked.
A number of cabinet members again criticized Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman for what they called his "ambiguous security policy."
Lieberman, who in recent days has said he supports dealing Hamas a "heavy blow," has yet to present any concrete plans for a potential military operation in Gaza.
The ministers were also surprised to learn that Lieberman had halted all fuel shipments to Gaza, not just the deliveries that are part of the Qatari aid to the coastal enclave.
The latter was meant to increase Gaza's power supply, currently enough to provide about four hours of power per day, by between two to four hours. Lieberman's decision means that within a week, the fuel supply in Gaza will run out, something everyone agrees would cause a humanitarian crisis.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett accused Lieberman of enacting counterintuitive policies by penalizing the residents of Gaza – already plagued by the dire economic situation and dilapidated infrastructure in the Strip – instead of Hamas.
Bennett again lobbied for harsher military responses against Palestinians trying to breach the security fence and against arson terrorist cells, saying that a "tougher approach on the border would prevent a wider escalation."
Also on Wednesday, U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt denounced Wednesday's rocket attack, tweeting, "This morning schools across Beer Sheva, Israel, were closed because of rocket attacks from Gaza. Once again, the regime in Gaza sets back the world's efforts to better the lives of Palestinians in Gaza and endangers and harms Israelis."
U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov also denounced the incident, saying, "The rockets fired at Beersheba were a dangerous escalation, part of a pattern of provocation meant to drag Israel and Gaza to another bloody war."
The European Union called on the Palestinian groups in Gaza to halt their rocket fire on Israel, saying attacks targeting civilians were "unacceptable."
"The rocket and mortar fire by Palestinian militants from Gaza towards Israel must stop immediately. Indiscriminate attacks against civilians are completely unacceptable. The first priority now is for de-escalation," the European Commission said in a statement.
