Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will "respond forcefully" against Hamas and terrorists in the Gaza Strip, after a rocket was launched Monday morning at Israel. The rocket hit a private home in Moshav Mishmeret in the Kfar Saba region, wounding the six residents in the house, all of which were evacuated to Meir Hospital.
Netanyahu said, "I spoke to the IDF Chief of Staff, head of the Shin Bet and head of Intelligence and... he sees this as a criminal act against the State of Israel."
The prime minister is returning early from his trip to the United States.Head of the Blue and White Party Benny Gantz also responded rapidly from his visit to the United States."Those who do not respond with force and instead [pay] Hamas, dismiss attacks on the citizens of the south and scorn the attack on Tel Aviv, now get rockets in the Hasharon region," Gantz tweeted. "Will he now, as well, be satisfied with Hamas's claim of an error or will he finally focus on the security of the citizens of the state and not on his legal issues?" Gantz continued. "I wish the wounded a speedy recovery."Another member of the Blue and White Party – No. 3 Moshe Ya'alon – said that "Netanyahu has turned the citizens of Israel into Hamas hostages" by surrendering to blackmail, paying millions of dollars in cash to terrorists who murderer and burn Israeli fields."He who would have liked to believe that the rockets fired at Tel Aviv were a technical mistake," Ya'alon continued, "He lost the battle for our security and surrendered to terrorism.""As someone who supported the government's policy in the most difficult events, I say we must change our approach," Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said. "Tomorrow I assume there will be a security cabinet meeting and I am sure there will be a painful response. Someone has to pay the price."US Ambassador to Israel Jason Greenblatt reacted on Twitter to the rocket attack saying that the US condemns the attack and stands affirms Israel’s right to defend itself.
Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev, a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party said, "There is no question as to who is stronger, the answer is clear – even to the terrorists."Evacuating the terror headquarters will not help them this time, we'll chase them everywhere," she continued.Again an attack on Israel from Gaza. Again a rocket fired at a major metro area in Israel, which hit a home causing its collapse & injuring 6. We condemn this violence from Gaza & affirm Israel’s right to defend itself.
— Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45) March 25, 2019
Regev added that, "We must return to the policy of targeted assassinations. Only when the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip feel that they are being persecuted and targeted, will they begin to treat us differently."
New Right head Naftali Bennett used the opportunity to promote himself as the next Defense Minister.
"Israel's deterrence has collapsed, and we have to say honestly, Netanyahu failed against Hamas," The New Right Party said in a statement. "The release of the terrorists, the fear of destroying their homes, the restraint in the face of the rockets to the south – all of these led Hamas to stop being afraid of Israel."
The statement also added that "Netanyahu is a good prime minister and a failure as a defense minister, who under his tenure appointed defense ministers Ehud Barak, Moshe Ya'alon, Avigdor Liberman and himself – and they all failed. The time has come to appoint Naftali Bennett as defense minister in order to defeat Hamas."Labor's Avi Gabbay called Netanyahu "responsible for the poor security situation" and said, "Netanyahu can stay in the United States and engage in public relations, let him leave the security to those who have practical plans."Gal Hirsch, head of the Magen Party, said that "the residents of the south have suffered from rockets for years and live in their bunkers. Incendiary balloons have become routine, the escalation continues and the 'mistaken' rocket fire penetrates into other parts of the country.""Meanwhile, the big parties are busy with slandering and with submarines instead of worrying about what's really important," Hirsch continued. "The time has come to put an end to the spins and to deal with the critical things that trouble the public, and especially to care for their safety.""The writing was on the wall," Yisrael Beitenu leader Liberman commented. "It is impossible to deceive the citizens of Israel any more and to say that this missile was also mistakenly launched. When I resigned from the position of defense minister, I warned against the mistaken policy adopted by the cabinet and the loss of Israeli deterrence. It's time to adopt a different policy, the one I suggested from the outset."Moshe Feiglin, chairman of the Zehut party claimed that "The entire political-security elite: Netanyahu, Ya'alon and Gantz, who led the IDF to the glorious defeat in 2014, and to the stagnation in the face 500 rockets fired at Beersheba and the south – they are the ones responsible for the fact that the children living in the center of Israel have now become the hostages of Gaza."