Israel sounds out world opinion on large-scale ground incursion into Gaza

Israel has been trying to sound out the world reaction over its large-scale ground incursion into Gaza while it intensified strikes on Gaza during the past few days.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday spoke over phone with international Quartet Middle East Envoy Tony Blair and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suliman and impressed upon them that Israel would no longer be able to tolerate the current situation.

Holding Hamas responsible for the current escalating violence in Gaza, Barak said the Gaza violence is the consequence of the rocket attacks on southern Israel.

"An Israeli response is necessary and will be carried out," Barak was quoted by local daily Ha'aretz as saying during a visit to the southern port city of Ashkelon which is witnessing intensive rocket attacks from Gaza.

Escalating rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza have prompted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to intensify its aerial onslaught on the Hamas-ruled coastal strip during the past days.

Israeli aircraft have waged dozens of strikes on numerous targets since Wednesday morning, killing dozens Palestinians.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also seemed to be preparing the world for an intensified Israeli action, telling visiting Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas Thursday that the international community should "respect" all actions that Israel takes to protect its citizens, according to local daily Jerusalem Post.

Moreover, Israeli Foreign Ministry instructed its representatives abroad to inform those nations they stay a standpoint that Israel has never intended to return to Gaza since it left Gaza in 2005, but the continuation of rocket attacks left no alternative choice for Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also said Wednesday during his visit to Japan that there is a war going on in the south of Israel and the Gaza Strip.

"No one in Hamas, neither among the low ranks nor among the senior ranks, will be immune against that war," Olmert said.

Barak has said on Thursday that Israel must prepare for a further escalation of the tensions and would not be afraid of launching a large-scale ground offensive into Gaza to put an end to the continuous rocket attacks.

Israeli deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai was quoted by Israel Army Radio on Friday as saying that a large-scale military operation in Gaza is "unavoidable" in a bid to bring a halt to the rocket attacks on Israel.

Over the past few days, IDF has positioned an artillery battery near the Gaza border, and dozens of tanks have assembled in an area north of Gaza, local daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday.

Ha'aretz on Thursday quoted Israeli military sources as saying that IDF would complete its preparations for a major ground offensive in Gaza.

But the sources acknowledged that the final decision on a large-scale offensive, which is in the hands of Israeli government, has not yet been made.

Israeli military analysts say that as Ashkelon becomes a permanent target of Hamas rocket attacks, an Israeli ground offensive is becoming inevitable and likely to occur sooner rather than later.

The goals of such a ground operation, reportedly in the planning stages for weeks if not months, would not "merely" be to reduce the threat of rocket fire and rocket manufacturing in Gaza, but would also likely entail paralyzing the Hamas government's ability to operate and even include "regime change," Israeli defense sources were quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth as saying. Link