At about 10:00am, some eight hours after Israel began observing a unilateral ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza, cabinet ministers heard reports from senior officials regarding the situation in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, the IDF and other related subject matter.

Since the ceasefire went into effect, over ten rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel.

Releasing a brief statement shortly after noontime, government officials attending the meeting stated Operation Cast Lead is a national effort, enjoying the support of the entire nation. Officials seeking to calm the nation continue to stress that the ceasefire should not be interpreted as a green light for terrorists to renew rocket attacks, stating any and all violations will be met with a firm and immediate response.

Speaking on Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), Minister (Labor) Binyamin Ben-Eliyahu stated that “The terror cell that fired the rockets this morning no longer exists,” confirming when asked that the cell members who perpetrated the attacks were indeed eliminated in the retaliatory strike.

Apache combat helicopter gunships can be seen operating over the Gaza area at this time. Al-Jazeera reports Hamas sources are announcing “we must defend ourselves by firing rockets at Israel and to bring world attention to the plight and the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)