Bloomberg:

Israeli leaders stepped up aggressive rhetoric against Iran and a Palestinian proxy as a crucial domestic deadline looms.

Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers are attempting to reach a long-term truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that continued rocket fire from the Palestinian territory would provoke a military campaign. As frictions intensify in the Persian Gulf, Israel’s defense and foreign ministers said military action was possible to contain Iran’s military ambitions.

“If we must, we will launch a large-scale operation in Gaza, we will not come to any agreement unless all fire halts,” Netanyahu said at a media conference a day after three rockets were launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, speaking at the same conference, said Israel “must move from restraint to offensive” to roll back Iranian attempts to cement a major military presence in Syria, on Israel’s northern doorstep. “It’s no secret that Iran is trying to build a ring of fire around our country,” he said.

Bomb Iran

Separately, Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper in response to a question that Israel was prepared to bomb Iran if necessary to stop it from acquiring a nuclear weapon. “It’s an option. We will not allow Iran to produce or obtain nuclear weapons,” Katz said.

The rhetoric heats up as Israel finds itself on the verge of a third election in less than a year unless politicians can put aside differences and form a coalition by midnight Wednesday. In this drawn-out campaign season, Israeli leaders have been eager to demonstrate a willingness to confront the country’s enemies.

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