Israeli media reports have clearly shown disputes in the views between the Israeli army and the political establishment on carrying out a large-scale ground and air military operation to stop once and forever the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip on Israel.

The Israeli army wants to launch a military operation similar to operation "Cast Lead" that was launched on the Gaza Strip in early 2009 to regain its military deterrent power, but political leaders are more concerned that such an operation would expand and lead to a war with Egypt.

Although new Egypt led by the Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi is different from what it was under former President Hosni Mubarak, observers say that an Israeli operation on Gaza " would not" drag Egypt into a war with Israel, but may bring more Egyptian support to Hamas movement.

On Sunday, an Israeli missile struck two radical Islamic Salafi militants as they were riding on a motorcycle in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where one was killed and another critically wounded. Eight more civilian bystanders were injured, including five children, medical sources said.

The following day, militants of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) and Hamas movements' armed wings fired more than 55 homemade mortar shells and projectiles in southern Israel, saying in a joint leaflet that the attacks were a response to the Israeli attack that targeted defenseless civilians.

ARMY PREFERS A WAR

A high-ranking Israeli army officer recommended on Tuesday that a large-scale operation on Gaza similar to 2009 operation "Cast Lead" would prevent Gaza militant groups from launching more rockets on Israeli towns and communities in southern Israel, according to the Israeli Daily Ma'ariv.

The daily quoted the senior officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying that Israel these days "doesn't have any other options to rein on militants in the Gaza Strip or force them to stop firing rockets, except waging a large-scale operation to weak their power."

However, other Israeli military leaders believe that a long term large-scale military operation on Gaza will benefit Morsi in his security campaign against terrorism in Sinai, but he would find himself obliged to condemn Israel and back the Palestinian side, according to the Israeli daily.

Gaza militant groups, mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad, had on Tuesday warned Israel of launching another war on the Gaza Strip. They said that the Palestinian resistance groups are now having more abilities in their powerful defense system that is capable to create new equations on the ground.

Abu Ahmed, spokesman for the armed wing Islamic Jihad in Gaza Saraya al-Quds (al-Quds Brigades), told Xinhua that "Apparently, the Zionists (Israel) have misinterpreted our silence over the past few months. The enemy should understand that we can horrify and terrify it anytime and anywhere."