Israel warned Hamas yesterday to cease rocket fire and threatened a widening offensive if Hamas continues. Hamas maintains Israel "is the aggressor." 
The ultimatum comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the Israel Defence Force (IDF) was "prepared for a significant expansion of the operation" and after 75,000 army reservists were drafted for duty.
"We are at a junction. Either we go toward a calm or toward a meaningful widening of the operation… including a possible move to achieve complete military decision", said Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz to IDF Radio.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in the region meeting with the Arab Leauge in an attempt to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. There has been some optimism as Netanyahu met with his cabinet members to discuss a phased ceasefire agreement.
Israel has led an air campaign targeting high ranking Hamas commanders, rocket launcher locations, and Hamas communication sites, but has come under scrutiny with the rising number of civilian deaths in Gaza.

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!
Share this: 






This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Israel sets 36 hour ultimatum for Hamas