‘Not preparing for a ceasefire’: Israel blames Iran as violence continues

An outburst of Hamas rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes has no end in sight, as Israeli officials are blaming Iran for the conflagration and vowing to dominate the security landscape.

“Israel is not preparing for a ceasefire,” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Wednesday while visiting Ashkelon, one day after the city sustained a wave of rocket attacks that were imperfectly fended off by the vaunted Iron Dome missile defense system. “There is currently no end date for the operation. Only when we achieve complete quiet can we talk about calm.”