Cabinet: Israel strives for truce; preparing for Gaza op
Senior ministers convene in Jerusalem for five-hours discussion on escalation in south; decide to give Egyptian mediation efforts a chance while preparing for possibility of wide-scale military operation in Gaza Strip
Following Wednesday's five-hour Jerusalem meeting on the situation in Gaza, which took place in the midst of another mortar barrage on
the western Negev, the political-security cabinet issued a statement saying Israel would
give Egypt's efforts
to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian terror groups a chance but at the same time gear up for a possible wide-scale operation in the Strip.
Ministers who took part in the meeting were asked not to comment on it. Most cabinet members who were asked for their opinion prior to Wednesday's meeting said they were in favor of
a broad operation, but Defense Minister Ehud Barak said
"it is the cabinet members' responsibility to pay close attention to what the IDF chief of staff (Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi) and the General Staff have to say regarding what can or cannot be achieved through military action in Gaza".
War Ready
Gaza groups unfazed by possible IDF op / Ali Waked
As security cabinet prepares to decide on future military operation in Strip, militias seem unwary. 'The Israelis know that any large operation would carry severe consequences,' says militant source
Palestinian sources told Ynet that despite the increased attacks on the Negev, a ceasefire agreement was imminent.
During the session some 100 residents of Israel's battered southern region urged the
cabinet to decide on Israel's response to the incessant rocket and mortar fire.
Earlier Wednesday a spokesman for Hamas warned
that should Israel decide to invade Gaza, the coastal enclave would become a "graveyard for IDF soldiers".
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