JERUSALEM – Israel's defense minister vowed Sunday to wage war on the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad (search) until its capabilities are wiped out.
The threat by Shaul Mofaz (search) follows a homicide bombing by the group last week that killed five Israelis in the coastal city of Hadera.
Israel (search) responded Thursday with an airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip targeting Islamic Jihad militants, but it also killed people standing nearby in crowded streets.
"We are carrying out a broad operation against terrorism, a broad operation against the Islamic Jihad infrastructure in light of Islamic Jihad's intention to continue with suicide bombings," Mofaz said ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
"We are making huge efforts to prevent these attacks ... and this activity will continue until we can say that the Islamic Jihad infrastructure can no longer carry out suicide bombings," he added.
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