After an intense flare up between Israel and Gaza militant groups over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his country would not agree to any ceasefire that does not include a definitive end to the launching of incendiary kites and balloons across the border.

“I heard that Israel agreed to a ceasefire without stopping the kite terror. This is not true,” Netanyahu told cabinet ministers at the start of their weekly meeting on Sunday.

"The IDF dealt the harshest blow against Hamas since Operation Protective Edge [the 2014 Gaza war]. I hope they got the message; if they didn't, they will down the road," Netanyahu added of the weekend conflagration.

A ceasefire struck via Egyptian mediators to end a major escalation in tit-for-tat rocket fire and airstrikes over the weekend had also been intended to bring to an immediate halt the launching of such devices across the border.

It was not immediately clear if Hamas or Islamic Jihad, Gaza's second-largest militant group, had agreed to those terms. While Israel was reported to have agreed to the truce, a senior official later clarified that "only facts on the field will determine how we continue to respond."

Netanyahu’s remarks came as right-wing ministers criticized Israel’s reported agreement to quell tensions on the border, while at least three new fires were reported to have torched fields near Gaza on Sunday morning, with local officials saying they were sparked by flaming kites or balloons.

Source: i24News-Israel

BDST: 1553 HRS, JUL 15, 2018
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