Minister of Public Security Yitzhak Aharonovitch came out in support of a large-scale military operation in Gaza on Tuesday, Israel's Channel 2 reports.
"Israel should respond to attacks with broad military action in Gaza," Aharonovitch said. "We have to deal with the threat."
Aharonovitch added no distinction between injuries and deaths resulting from rocket and mortar fire from Gaza should be made.
The Minister's comments come the day after a bedouin woman was wounded by a rocket in her tent near her husband's flocks in an open field near Ashkelon.
Aharonovitch's call for a large scale operation is a tacit admission that Israel's quid pro quo airstrike for rocket attack approach is not working.
There has been an uptick in attacks from Hamas-run Gaza in the past month after a brief lull following the Fatah-Hamas unity agreement in Cairo earlier this year.
Operation Cast Lead (December 27, 2008 – January 18, 2009), while broadly considered a tactical victory for Israel, fell short of actually stopping rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza.
