[AP/Ha'aretz] The Israel Air Force's outgoing commander, Maj.-Gen. Eliezer Shkedi, in an interview aired Saturday on Israel Radio, said that during a future war Israel's home front is likely to be bombarded with thousands of missiles and rockets in the possession of Hamas, Hizbullah, and Syria. Hizbullah fired 4,000 Katyusha rockets at northern Israel throughout the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and for over seven years, southern Israel has been pounded with rockets launched from Gaza. Shkedi stated that Hamas routinely fires at IAF aircraft flying over Gaza. In a separate interview, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter told Israel Radio that Hamas is rapidly arming itself. He said Hamas in Gaza has almost obtained the military capacity of a state, and asserted that Israel must destroy the militant group's arsenal.
2008-05-19 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive