Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Ron Prosor, said on Monday night that it was time for the UN Security Council to condemn Hamas’s indiscriminate attacks against millions of Israeli civilians.

“In a single hour earlier today, Hamas and other terrorists fired over 65 rockets towards Israeli homes, schools, and hospitals – that is one rocket per minute. With only seconds to run for cover, Israelis will spend the night sleeping in bomb shelters,” Prosor wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council.

“Israel will no longer tolerate this situation.  Those who target Israelis with terrorism will pay a very heavy price,” he added.

“At this critical moment,” wrote Prosor, “the Security Council has an obligation to unequivocally condemn Hamas before it is too late. The very real danger of an even greater escalation hangs over the region. The Council must publicly denounce terrorism and call on President Abbas to dissolve the unity government before the situation further deteriorates.”

On Monday night, the IDF launched “Operation Protective Edge” in Gaza, which is meant, according to the IDF “to stop the terror Israel’s citizens face on a daily basis.”

So far, the operation is focusing on aerial attacks on Gaza, according to Israeli media, though earlier on Monday some 1,500 reserve soldiers were called up for preparatory training and photos surfaced showing tanks and IDF forces gathering close to the Gaza border. 

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, called on Israel to stop the airstrikes on Gaza, which he called an “escalation”.