Israel poised for Gaza invasion
Middle East Desk Report

JERUSALEM—Israel’s army has completed plans for a large offensive in the Gaza Strip and is only waiting for government approval for the action, the military chief said Wednesday, shortly after two Palestinian militants were killed by Israeli tank fire in the coastal area.
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that until he receives the go-ahead for a broad operation, Israel will continue with its policy of airstrikes and brief ground incursions to halt Palestinian rocket attacks. “If it is necessary, we are prepared for the possibility of action,” Ashkenazi told Army Radio. “Until then I think it is our duty to exhaust all other avenues and to operate every day and night in order to provide security.”
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has repeatedly said that the time for a widespread ground invasion of Gaza is drawing closer. But as recently as Tuesday, he said it was not yet necessary to launch a broad operation, which would likely result in heavy casualties to Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians in Gaza’s crowded urban landscape. On Wednesday, Israeli tanks fired shells toward a group of Hamas militants on the outskirts of the town of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip after dawn, Palestinian doctors and residents said.