Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided on Tuesday evening that he would declare a "special situation on the home front" in the Gaza vicinity area for 48 hours, said a spokeswoman of the Defense Ministry.
The decision would be brought to the Knesset (parliament) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee within 48 hours, which will decide the time period that the state of emergency will take in effect, the spokeswoman told Xinhua.
She said the "special situation" status is a legal term that allows the army to take special actions in the area,
Barak made the decision in the wake of the increasing Qassam rocket attacks on the Israeli western Negev town of Sderot, she said.
On Monday, nine rockets fell in Sderot, including one Qassam which landed outside a day-care center, causing 12 small children to be treated for shock at Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital.
Local media said that Barak also ordered the defense establishment to examine the legal ramifications of cutting electricity and fuel supplies to Gaza in an effort to impair Hamas ' ability to govern.
The possibility of a limited military operation is also being considered, in order to deal solely with the rocket-launching zones to a broad operation designed to stop Hamas' growth, according to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
However, the ministry didn't confirm the report.
Source: Xinhua
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