Israel warns of escalation over Gaza violence

Israel is "prepared to escalate" its response to Palestinian rocket fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned yesterday, after one of the worst flare-ups along its border with Gaza in recent years.
"The army is acting and will act forcefully against the terror organisations in the Gaza Strip. They are receiving strong blows from the army," Netanyahu told ministers at the beginning of his cabinet meeting.
"The world must realise that Israel won't sit by idly in the face of attempts to attack us. We are prepared to escalate our actions," he said.
The flare-up began on Saturday evening when Gaza militants fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli jeep along the Gaza border, injuring four soldiers, one of them severely.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, shelling and artillery fire that left six Palestinians dead and 32 injured by yesterday morning, and Palestinian militants fired at least 57 rockets into southern Israel.
The latest barrage of rockets, on yesterday morning, hit the Israeli border town of Sderot, injuring four civilians, Israeli police said.
The outbreak of violence was one of the most serious since Israel's devastating 22-day operation in the Gaza Strip over New Year 2009, and raised the spectre of a broad Israeli operation against the Palestinian territory.
The flare-up comes ahead of Israeli elections in January, but ministers said the build-up to the vote would not prevent an operation if it was necessary.