The Israeli army is preparing to enter the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has agreed to conduct a ground operation in the enclave.
"The army was given the green light. <...> The Israeli government made a decision and gave the army the green light to destroy [Hamas]",
Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat said.
Barkat, who is also a member of the Israeli National Security Council, noted that the military's priority is to destroy Hamas, and efforts will also be made to bring back alive those held hostage by the Palestinian resistance, ABC TV channel reports.
Calls to enter Gaza in order to eliminate the Hamas movement have been heard in Israel since the first days of the current round of escalation, including ten days ago the opposition former head of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, leader of "Israel Our Home"l party Avigdor Lieberman called for it.
