Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that Israel is nearing a major ground assault in the Gaza Strip to deal with the ongoing Qassam rocket fire directed at Israeli communities.
Barak made the remarks during a meeting with senior officials of defense establishment and defense industry, local daily Ha' aretz reported.
"When you take a real look at the challenge of the Qassam, it is very possible that we are approaching the need for a wide ground operation in Gaza" in order to halt the rocket fire, Barak was quoted as saying.
A statement released from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) also said that the cabinet has decided to continue intensive military operations against all those involved in launching rockets and in perpetrating other terrorist actions.
"Nobody among those responsible for terrorism will be immune." the statement said.
Meanwhile, the security establishment, in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and the relevant legal bodies, has been instructed to disrupt the services that provided to Gaza in response to the continued attacks against the Israeli civilian population, according to the PMO.
The cabinet also weighed shutting off electricity to the coastal enclave in an attempt to halt Palestinian rocket fire, but this would not necessarily be done immediately, an official presented at the cabinet meeting told the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
In the wake of the increasing Qassam rocket attacks on the Israeli western Negev town of Sderot, Barak declared Tuesday evening a "special situation on the home front" in the Gaza vicinity area for 48 hours.
On Monday, nine rockets fell in Sderot, including the one which landed outside a day care center, causing 12 small children to be treated for shock at Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital.
Source: Xinhua
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