Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday continued their rocket and mortar fire at Israel, causing injuries and prompting leaders in the Jewish state to vow a "disproportionate" response.
Two Israeli soldiers and a civilian were wounded in the latest Palestinian barrage against southern Israel, including at least five rockets and eight mortar shells, according to local police and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
On Sunday night, Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes on several targets in the Gaza Strip, including an empty Hamas police station and the borderline between Gaza and Egypt. No injuries were reported.
The latest attacks followed a notable flare-up of violence between Gazan militants and Israeli troops last week after a roadside bomb killed an Israeli soldier along the border in the sole fatal incident since the two sides separately staged a ceasefire on Jan. 18 after Israel's massive offensive in Gaza.
When wrapping up the 22-day punishing operation, which Israel said was aimed to end the Gazan rocket fire and restore peace to the southern communities, Israeli officials warned of harsh retaliation to any new Palestinian attack and threatened a new round of assaults if necessary.
"The cabinet's position from the outset was that if there is rocket fire at southerners, there will be a response that will essentially be disproportionate," outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reiterated at Sunday's cabinet meeting.
Yet although the violence continues and the Israeli officials are talking tough, which augurs ill for the already fragile ceasefire, the Jewish state is widely seen as unlikely to repeat the recently-finished Operation Cast Lead, which killed over 1,400 in Gaza.
"Israel is more likely to launch airstrikes and limited operations in response to the rocket fire," Dr. Ephraim Kam, deputy head of the Institute for National Security Studies, (INSS) told Xinhua, echoing remarks made by some defense officials.
The recent offensive has significantly weakened Hamas, and currently there is no need to resort to such a large action again, said Kam, adding that he agreed with many other analysts that Israel's realistic goal is to reach a long-term truce with the Islamist group.
"The important thing now is to reach a durable ceasefire with favorable conditions," said Shlomo Brom, another senior researcher with INSS, while stressing that the IDF has restored its deterrence over Gazan militants, which is vital to any lasting arrangement with Hamas.
The Gaza ruler is desperate for a ceasefire now, as is shown by the lowered demands from the group, noted the retired brigade- general, saying that Hamas is in urgent need to rebuild itself from the devastation it sustained during Operation Cast Lead.
Giving evidence of the arguments, Israel's military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said that Sunday's attacks were not waged by Hamas but other militant groups that "are challenging Hamas and carrying out attacks for a renewed escalation."
"Hamas, for its part, has been deterred and is honoring the ceasefire, but is not deterring the others enough," added Yadlin.
Earlier in the day, word went out that Hamas has agreed to a one-year ceasefire with Israel, which would go into effect on Thursday as Egypt, the main mediator for the unwieldy conflict, has expected. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas made an unscheduled trip to Cairo reportedly due to "a breakthrough" on the Gaza issue.
Noting that the developments also came against the backdrop of Israel's upcoming general election, Professor Hillel Frisch, a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, said that a major operation is not probable while the Feb. 10 vote is just days away.
Recent polls showed that Benjamin Netanyahu, chair of the hawkish Likud party, would defeat his main rival, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and become the next premier. Defense Minister Ehud Barak is shown lagging behind the two.
Should another massive offensive be launched, it would risk postponing the election, generating a scenario that would further disadvantage Livni's Kadima party and Barak's Labor party, explained Frisch.
He noted that another factor that might help prevent an large Israeli operation is the "engagement mode" of the new U.S. administration under President Barack Obama, whose special envoy, George Mitchell, called for consolidation of the Gaza ceasefire during his ongoing Middle East trip.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2009)