Israel to step up military actions unless rocket fire halted: minister

Israel will step up its military actions against the Gaza Strip unless Palestinian militants there halt firing attacks onto the Jewish state, Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Israel Radio on Friday.

"If the residents of the Gaza Strip don't act and don't understand that the biggest threat to their security is the rocket fire, then we will have to intensify our response and take steps that we have not yet taken," Ramon was quoted as saying.

However, he did not elaborate which steps were being considered.

On Friday, Israeli Knesset (Parliament) member Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, urged the Israeli army to announce that it will target Hamas leaders' homes in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

Israel has already warned Hamas that it will attack the group's leaders unless the rocket fire was halted.

A rocket hit a moshav in Israel's western Negev on Friday, causing some damages but no casualties, Israel Radio reported.

Palestinian militants have fired about seven rockets at Israel since Thursday night. No injuries were caused in the barrage of rocket attacks.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Israel had sent a message through secret channels to the Hamas-led Palestinian government warning of large-scale operations if Palestinian militants continue rocket attacks on Israel.

Israel has declared cutting off all direct contacts with the Palestinian government since Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, took power in late March.

Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruct, has refused to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

The group called off a 16-month-old truce with Israel last Friday in the wake of a Gaza beach incident in which seven Palestinian civilians were killed.

Palestinian witnesses said that the seven were killed in an Israeli shelling but Israel denied responsibility.

Source: Xinhua