Netanyahu Threatens Gaza Attack as Troops Build Up

Ground Troops Added to Border Area After Recent Airstrikes

A number of Israeli airstrikes against the Gaza Strip may be just the beginning of a new round of escalation, as the nation has confirmed adding ground troops and tanks to the border area.

Israel had simultaneously couched the airstrikes as retaliation for a handful of rocket strikes from Gaza, and retaliation for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played up the escalation of vital for the “security of our citizens,” even though there were no reports of the Gaza rockets causing any injuries, and said the military was prepared to “act with power.

At the same time, Netanyahu cautioned Israelis against taking retaliatory violence on their own against the Palestinians, saying such moves have no place in a democracy.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.