Israel has been close to launching a major military offensive in the Gaza Strip as a result of continuing tensions and rocket fire, Israeli army commander Eliezer Toledano said on Monday.
The Israeli officer in separate conversations to Channel 12 and Yediot Aharonot newspaper will be published in full tomorrow, that the security reality with the Gaza Strip is not stable enough, revealing that the recent rocket launches almost exploded the situation.
He added: "Really, we were close to a very large campaign several times." He pointed out that this option still exists "We are constantly on the brink of war," and that preparations are ready, but that needs a decision.
He said the army was continuing its search for Hamas tunnels, having discovered 18 since the end of the 2014 war.
He pointed to the army is preparing more to face the new threat of hovercraft. He pointed out that those hovercraft have the ability to carry and throw explosives, and Israel takes this threat seriously.
He considered that the situation on the border of Gaza is very complex and a war of attrition due to the continuation of border marches on a weekly basis.
