Israel "cannot accept" ceasefire with Hamas says Barak
Israel "cannot really accept" a cease-fire with Hamas, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in a U.S. television interview on Saturday, rejecting calls by the United Nations and the European Union for a truce after Israeli air strikes killed 227 people in Gaza.
"For us to be asked to have a cease-fire with Hamas is like asking you to have a cease-fire with al Qaeda. It”s something we cannot really accept," Barak told Fox News from Tel Aviv.
Asked whether Israel would follow up the air strikes with a ground offensive, Barak said, "If boots on the ground will be needed, they will be there."
"Our intention is to totally change the rules of the game," he said.