Israel warns of Gaza assault after rocket attack

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel warned on Thursday that its forces were prepared to launch a major military assault on Gaza after a rocket attack wounded at least 14 people while US President George W. Bush was in Israel.

"The Israeli army has never been this ready to launch a large-scale operation in Gaza," said Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, a member of Israel's security cabinet.

"It may be that we have no choice but to destroy all the nests of terror. Apparently we'll have no choice," he told public radio.

Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the impoverished territory, is preparing defensive positions in anticipation of a possible military incursion, Israeli's military intelligence chief, Major General Amos Yadlin, told the Haaretz newspaper....