PM, Ministers Deliberate Next Step After Tel Aviv Bus Bombing

Israel's Next Step?

Operation Pillar of Defense is deep into its eighth day, with continued rocket strikes on southern Israel and Israeli air attacks on terror targets in Gaza. A little after noon, a bus was blown up in central Tel Aviv. The Times of Israel is live-blogging developments. Refresh for latest updates.
Click here for all our previous live blog coverage of Operation Pillar of Defense.
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Conflicting reports are coming in about at least four Israelis injured after a volley of rockets and mortars fired from the Gaza Strip explode in the Eshkol border region.
Ynet reports seven injured, one moderately and two lightly injured.

Four are being evacuated by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba and three are being evacuated to Tel Hashomer Medical Center outside Tel Aviv, according to Ynet.
Channel 2 TV’s political analyst says Israel does not want a written ceasefire deal with Hamas, but rather an informal arrangement.

Israel’s government believes a written deal would be “like a deal with the mafia,” Udi Segal says.
Israel does not want formal guarantees from Egypt, because that would risk involving Egypt in the next round of Gaza violence, risking a historic peace agreement that Israel sees as a “strategic asset.”
Israel is currently ratcheting up its strikes in Gaza to show Hamas that dragging its feet on a ceasefire will cost it dearly, he says.