Israel: Next Gaza war will be extensive

Israeli army chief Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi has proclaimed that the next ‘big’ Israel onslaught on the Gaza Strip will determine the victor, reports say.

“The next round (of fighting) will be extensive and it should end in such a way where there is no doubt as to which side triumphed,” Ynetnews quoted Ashkenazi as telling Israeli troops based near the coastal sliver on Wednesday.

He also underpinned the Israeli military’s preparedness for wider action against the impoverished strip.

Ashkenazi made the remarks on the heels of Israeli airstrikes on several places across Gaza.

Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes near the city of Khan Younis in the south, bombarding a chicken farm on Wednesday.

The warplanes also attacked the city of Rafah, also in the south, targeting the tunnels beneath Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Israeli media confirmed the air raids on the blockaded coastal strip but reported no casualties.

The last time Israel launched an all-out war on Gaza was at the turn of 2009. The offensive claimed the lives of over 1,400 Palestinians — most of them women and children.

The coastal enclave has been under the Israeli siege since June 2007 after Hamas took control of the region following a democratic election.

The illegal Israeli-imposed blockade has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the enclave.