Israel preparing for 'broad' Gaza campaign: Netanyahu

By Abdel Rauf Arnaut

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel is preparing for a “broad campaign in Gaza”, The Jerusalem Post quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying on Thursday.

“If we must embark on a broad campaign, we will hit them [Gaza-based resistance groups] very hard, but only after all other options have been exhausted,” the newspaper quoted Netanyahu as saying.

The prime minister made the remarks while inspecting the Israeli side of the Gaza-Israel buffer zone, where he met with several division and brigade commanders.

“We are tightening the security cordon around Gaza,” he added. “We’re operating in several arenas simultaneously.”

On Monday, Israeli warplanes pounded the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in ostensible retaliation for rockets fired into Israeli territory, which reportedly left seven Israelis injured north of Tel Aviv.

Shortly afterward, the army deployed air-defense batteries across the country and sent two additional infantry brigades to the buffer zone.