Israel may need to invade Gaza to stop the missiles

Israel Hits Gaza; big invasion possible
By Laurie Copans | Associated Press
June 7, 2008
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JERUSALEM — Israel sent aircraft, tanks and ground troops into the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing one Palestinian and injuring 17. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that he was considering a large-scale invasion.

Friday's incursion into Gaza came a day after Palestinian militants killed an Israeli civilian in a mortar attack.


Olmert, returning from a trip to Washington, warned that Israel is close to abandoning efforts to bring a truce to the volatile area. "According to the information we have now, the pendulum is much closer to a decision on a harsh operation," he said.

Egypt has been trying for months to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers. But both sides have set tough conditions for a truce, and Israeli leaders are under pressure at home to respond militarily.

Four Israelis have been killed this year in rocket and mortar attacks, out of a total of 16 killed since 2004.

Israel has been reluctant to launch a large-scale incursion for fear it would result in the deaths of many Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians. Instead, it has been relying on airstrikes and ground raids on militant rocket and mortar operations that have severely disrupted life in southern Israel.

One militant was killed and two were injured early Friday in a gun battle that erupted after Israeli tanks and bulldozers crossed into central Gaza. The military said its forces entered to prevent rocket launches.

Fifteen Palestinians — some Hamas militants, others civilians — were wounded in a second aerial attack on a Hamas base in northern Gaza later Friday, doctors said. The missiles destroyed a building, witnesses said.

Hamas also fired four rockets toward Israel, the group said. One landed in the rocket-scarred town of Sderot, damaging six cars, the military said.

The latest flare-up in violence began Thursday when a Hamas mortar shell killed an Israeli and injured four others in southern Israel. Israel then sent aircraft after a rocket squad, the military said, but apparently missed their target, killing a 6-year-old Palestinian girl.

Israel's security Cabinet, a group of ministers with security responsibilities, was to review the pros and cons of a large Israeli operation in Gaza at a meeting Sunday, media reported.