Israeli PM: 'We have to change tactic'

Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Sunday that Israel would have to change its tactics in order to stop the incessant rocket fire from militants in the Gaza Strip at southern Israel. "Israel will need to implement other measures in order to put a stop to the rocket fire," Ya'alon, who is also the minister of strategic affairs, told Israel Radio Sunday morning. Since Thursday, militants in Gaza have fired some 20 Grad rockets and other projectiles at Israeli cities and towns surrounding the coastal enclave, including nearby coastal Ashkelon and Ashdod, and Beersheba, about 40 km away. While there were no injuries or damage reported in the volleys, "no country can tolerate this kind of fire, and Hamas is responsible," Ya'alon said. Although the Hamas militants did not launch the rockets, Israel and its army held the group, which rules Gaza, responsible for any hostile act emanating from the strip. Israeli air strikes since Thursday have left four Gazans dead, including a 12-year-old boy and his father, and have wounded more than a dozen others. Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said Sunday that " sooner or later Israel will have to operate in the strip." Steinitz, who made the remarks on his way to the weekly cabinet session, added that "Israel cannot tolerate an Iranian and Hamas missile base in Gaza." IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz and senior army officials convened Friday night to weigh the responses to the rocket barrage.