BICOM

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman played down the chances of a major conflict with Hamas in a speech to new Israeli Air Force pilots yesterday.

In response to missile attacks and continued attempts to infiltrate the border with Israel, Lieberman, said: “Israelis are impatient. We want everything immediately — ‘war now,’ ‘military victory now.’ But serious and responsible security policies cannot be a response to pressure from the media or the public. We are taking responsible and level-headed action, in accordance with Israel’s interest.”

As part of a series of proposals from Israeli officials to improve economic conditions in Gaza, the Israeli army has recommended that the Gaza fishing zone be extended from 9 to 12 nautical miles to allow larger numbers of fishermen to work and increase food supplies. The proposal has yet to be approved by the Israeli Government. The IDF said: “Three months ago, the fishing area was expanded from six to nine miles from the shore, a step that increased activity in the fishing industry, reduced fish prices and created employment for hundreds of Gazans.”

The departing commander of Israeli naval forces on the Gaza coast gave an interview to Yediot Ahronot in which he explained the ongoing naval threat from Hamas. Lt. Col. Boris Schuster said Hamas are losing their strategic assets on the ground, such as tunnels, so are building more naval commando units. He also said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are working on quadcopters to attack Israeli Navy ships. He said: “Over the past six months we’ve been training and preparing for different scenarios. They have the capability to carry out a mass-casualty terror attack of this kind. Their naval unit has improved immensely recently and they are training to carry out attacks in Israeli towns and to damage facilities.” Schuster said the IDF “assess there are underwater terror tunnels, but they’re also preparing other options such as boats and rafts packed with explosives, and floating explosive devices.”

Twenty fires were ignited in Israel yesterday after flying firebombs were sent from the Gaza Strip. Firefighters dealt with fires in the Eshkol, Sdot Negev, and Shaar Hanegev regions that engulfed communities in smoke, burned nature reserves and killed animals. 7,400 acres of land have been damaged by the fires since the firebombs began to be launched in April.