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Missile fired at Ashdod Thursday
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Barak: No 100% solution to rocket strikes

Defense minister tours Gaza region, says Iron Dome anti-missile system does not provide foolproof solution to ongoing rocket attacks; Arab paper reports indirect contacts between Israel, and Hamas, as relative quiet prevails in south Friday

Israel's advanced anti-missile system, Iron Dome, does not provide a foolproof solution to ongoing rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday.

 

Following the recent escalation in southern Israel, both Bara and IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz visited the Gaza region Friday. During the tour, Barak said he approved the deployment of Iron Dome's first operational battery in the south and lauded its capabilities, while making note of its limitations.

 

"We must understand that alongside the fact that this is an exceptional achievement by our defense industries, unprecedented anywhere else, it ultimately does not provide 100% coverage," he said.

 

"This is the first battery, and every additional battery that we get will join this system," he said. "However, the full deployment would take several years and involve significant budgets."

 

The defense minister also lauded the IDF's operations against terror groups in the Gaza Strip in recent days.

 

"Overall, in the past 10 days Hamas and other terror groups sustained a serious of tough blows," he said. "They lost 11 fighters and a family of four, which none of us wanted killed…we had several lightly wounded people on our side, but fortunately not fatalities."

 

Barak noted that some 100 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel during this period, and conveyed a clear message to Hamas: "We do not intend to allow terror to hit our cities. Should the fire continue, we'll respond as necessary…Hamas is responsible for all the terror activity from Gaza."

 

'Israel, Hamas in contact'

On Friday, relative quiet prevailed in the south following several days of sustained rocket fire from Gaza. The IDF did not strike targets in the Strip while the rocket fire largely stopped, with the exception of one mortar shell attack reported earlier Friday.

 

Meanwhile, Arabic-language newspaper Sharq al-Awsat reported Friday morning that Israel and Hamas are in contact behind the scenes via a third party. The paper quoted an Israeli source who claimed indirect talks had been held starting Thursday in the aims of reducing tensions in the area and putting an end to IDF strikes and rocket attacks.

 

While the identity of the third party mediating in the talks was not published, estimates point to Egypt, Turkey and possibly the Palestinian Authority as well.

 

According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a message from Hamas whereby the group is not interested in escalation. The United States, Egypt and European states were also exerting pressure on Israel not to resort to a broad military confrontation.

 

The newspaper also reported great tension between Hamas and Islamic Jihad over the latest escalation.

Elior Levy and Shmulik Hadad contributed to the story

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.25.11, 17:57
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