WarSclerotic

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on Wednesday evening said the IDF should reoccupy the Gaza Strip in response to an ongoing, massive rocket bombardment of southern Israel, and said that the Israeli government must defend its citizens even at the cost of terminating peace talks with the Palestinians.

Liberman told Channel 2 that Israel could not abide the firing of dozens of rockets at civilian targets in a single day, and added that the IDF was ready to take immediate action in order to eradicate the threat of rocket fire from the Strip.

“There is no way to avert a full occupation of the Gaza Strip; only then can we ensure that these images do not recur,” the foreign minister said. ”We cannot ignore such an attack, a barrage of 50 rockets and mortar shells.”

The Islamic Jihad, which took responsibility for the attacks, put the number at 90 rockets.

Liberman insisted that only a full-scale military invasion of Gaza could sufficiently counter the rocket threat, and stressed that he would not accept a smaller-scale operation across the border.

“I will vote against any limited operation,” he said. ”They have [arms] caches, hideouts for thousands of missiles, and every day they increase their efforts.”

Asked whether he would push for military action even at the expense of peace talks, Liberman said that the security of Israel’s citizens outweighed concerns over the success of the political process.

“No sovereign state can accept a situation in which its citizens are not secure,” the foreign minister stated. ”There is no price to big to pay in order to ensure that the citizens of Israel stay protected.”

No Israeli casualties were initially reported in the largest attack from the Strip since Operation Pillar of Defense in late 2012.

Illustrative photo of a Grad rocket fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip. (photo credit: Jorge Novominsky/Flash90/File)

Most of the rockets were reported to have fallen in open areas, though at least one rocket landed in a residential neighborhood. Damage was reported in two impact sites.

IAF jets were reportedly flying over the Strip, apparently in an effort to thwart further rocket launches, and tanks fired shells at several targets in the coastal territory.

The army said some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.

Officers in the southern command convened Wednesday evening to discuss possible responses to the attack.

Meanwhile, security agencies in the Strip evacuated their headquarters for fear of Israeli reprisal, Sky News reported.

The Islamic Jihad took responsibility for firing some of the rockets at Israel, and indicated that the attack was retaliation for the Tuesday killing at the hands of the IDF of three Islamic Jihad operatives as they prepared to fire at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

“The Al-Quds Brigades responded to (Israeli) aggression with a volley of rockets,” the group said in a statement Wednesday, minutes after the rocket attack.

Following the rocket attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would forcefully respond to any threat on its citizens.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in Eilat on March 10, with the Iranian missile shipment behind him (photo credit: AFP/Jack Guez)

“It seems that the rocket fire came in response to our counter-terrorism operations yesterday,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue to thwart and harm those who wish to harm us, and we will act against them with great intensity.

“Last year, the number of rockets fired from Gaza was the lowest in a decade, but we will not settle for that. We will continue to ensure the security of Israeli citizens in the south and throughout the country.”

Last week, Israel intercepted what it said was an Iranian shipment of rockets intended for terror groups in Gaza. Israeli military sources said the arms, including 409 rockets, were destined for Islamic Jihad.

AFP contributed to this report