Ya’alon: Iron Dome deployed in the South

IDF carrying out additional measures to prepare for any escalation of attacks from Gaza, says defense minister.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Iron Dome battery 370 (photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Iron Dome battery 370
(photo credit: Ben Hartman)
The IDF has mobilized an Iron Dome anti-rocket battery in the South and has carried out additional measures to prepare for any escalation of attacks from Gaza, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon announced on Wednesday.
During a tour of a Givati Brigade drill in the Binyamin region, Ya’alon put the onus on Hamas for the recent attacks from the Gaza Strip, including Tuesday’s sniper shooting that killed Salah Shukri Abu Latyef, a Defense Ministry contract worker on the border fence. Abu Latyef was buried in Rahat on Wednesday.
“Should Hamas fail to restrain other terror groups from firing on Israel, Gaza will not experience quiet,” Ya’alon warned. “I hope that Hamas and the other organizations understood this matter, and will calm down.
For added safety, we are prepared for the possibility of an escalation.”
A day after the sniper attack and after the IDF launched its broadest retaliation since Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012, the southern border remained calm on Wednesday, raising hopes that the truce could be salvaged. The Gaza Division remained on high alert.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.