Israeli defence chief calls for 'serious blow' to Hamas

Jerusalem, Oct 17 (IANS) Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday said that his country should deliver a "serious blow" to Gaza Strip's Hamas, following weeks of violence at the borders."We are not willing to accept the level of violence we see one week after another," Lieberman told reporters during a tour of the Israeli military's Gaza Division, Xinhua reported."A serious blow to Hamas could bring us at least five more years of quiet," he said.Also on Tuesday, Israel's military said in a statement that one of its aircraft fired at a group of Palestinians in Gaza Strip after they launched helium-filled arson balloons into Israeli territory.There were no immediate reports of injuries in the airstrike.Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza, has been holding weekly demonstration near the border fence between Israel and Gaza Strip, since March 30 to protest the 12-year blockade imposed by Israel.Israeli forces have so far killed at least 155 Palestinians during the violent clashes with Palestinian protesters since March.
--IANS vc/ahm/