Declaring that Israel was not "coming to terms" with Kassam rocket fire, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz said Monday he was not currently in favor of launching a massive ground operation into the Gaza Strip to stop the daily rocket attacks on towns in the western Negev. A total of 11 Kassams landed in the Negev on Monday, seven in Sderot and one which scored a direct hit on a home in a nearby kibbutz. No one was injured in any of the attacks but extensive damage was caused to the home. "Israel is not surrendering to the Kassam rockets," Halutz told reporters as he mingled with new recruits during their enlistment in the IDF at the Tel Hashomer Induction Center on Monday. He said that it was easy to propose large-scale operations in the Gaza Strip as a solution to the Kassam fire, but that they would not necessarily eliminate the threat.
A range of alternatives would need to be exhausted before launching a major incursion into Gaza to combat terrorist activity. Escalated force was "not the first choice," Halutz added. "It is very easy to make this proposal but the world is not just built on acts of strength," Halutz said. "There are other layers of legitimacy for an operation and we need to ask ourselves what will the consequences of such an operation be and what will happen the day after the operation."