Israel And Hamas On Brink Of War

Israel and Hamas are on the brink of war, after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck a home in the southern city of Beersheba and the Israeli military responded by targeting numerous terror sites in the Palestinian enclave. According to the Israel Defense Forces, a second mid-range missile was launched from the Hamas-run territory, which local media reported landed in the sea near Tel Aviv. Rocket alert sirens also were heard throughout Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza, and injuries have been reported on both sides. The escalation comes a day after Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman held a situation assessment with top army brass, thereafter warning that, “we have exhausted all of the options and all of the possibilities—now is the time to make decisions.” The defense chief publicly has called for Hamas to be punished following months of violence along the border sparked by the so-called “March of Return” protests. For his part, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has vowed a “very painful” response if Gaza’s rulers do not halt the weekly riots. Notably, both Hamas and Islamic Jihad denied responsibility for the overnight rocket attacks, suggesting that additional limited time may be given to Egyptian and United Nations diplomats to somehow forge an elusive cease-fire to avert a fourth war in Gaza in the past decade. Otherwise, the Israeli military reportedly is prepared to launch a full-scale operation by next week.