Israel’s Military Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz has threatened Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip with another large-scale war.

Speaking at a meeting of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, Gantz said the point at which a military operation would become necessary was "drawing closer."

The general noted that Israel would not be “dragged into” an operation in the coastal enclave, but would rather initiate an orderly one, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Earlier this month, a top Israeli military official announced that the Israeli regime has given the green light to the military to prepare for a ground offensive against the Gaza Strip.

Tel Aviv claims the move is aimed at halting rocket fire from the besieged coastal strip.

The Israeli regime launched a three-week onslaught on Gaza at the turn of 2008, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The war also left many homes and parts of Gaza’s civil infrastructure in ruins.

Since then, Israel has regularly carried out deadly airstrikes on the besieged coastal enclave.

(Press TV)