REPORT: Israel escalates threats, menaces to implement second phase of war against Gaza

With Palestinian rockets falling over Israel's commercial center and over the city of Rishon LeZion southeastern Tel Aviv preceded by deaths and injuries in the south, Israel escalated its threats as it menaced to implement the second phase of the war plan against Gaza Strip and which includes a widespread ground invasion operation.             

While units of the Israeli Army and columns of tanks headed towards the border with Gaza, backed by developed armors, the air force, in cooperation with the Navy, continued shelling operations.           

In this context, Minister Yisrael Katz declared that the ministers of Netanyahu's government require that Hamas vows to end, at any cost, the launch of rockets against Israel; otherwise they are threatening to "level the houses with the ground."           

"An Israeli child's tear is more important than the displacement of Gaza's population to Sinai, we must operate in Gaza as we did in South of Lebanon, so they will be frightened of us, as we distribute leaflets, call for evacuation and eliminate houses," he said.             

For his part, the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barack stressed Israel's insistence to restore the power of deterrence, and restore calm, noting that they will take the necessary steps to ensure this goal.                        

Israel, which wanted the operation "Pillar of Cloud" to be more severe than "Operation Cast Lead", has been bragging, since the first day, about the Iron Dome, saying that it succeeded, while Intelligence apparatuses were able, over the past two months, to obtain accurate information from inside Gaza, allowing it to assassinate al-Jaabari and to hit rocket depots and Hamas bases.


To watch the full LBCI report, please click on the video above [to be uploaded shortly]