LIVE BLOG:

5:39 P.M. IDF source: Some of rockets struck in ammunition warehouse were hidden in Gaza residential building (Haaretz)

5:36 P.M. IDF Spokesman: Israeli military ready for ground operation in Gaza, should there be need for an incursion (Barak Ravid)

5:26 P.M. Palestinians say Hamas military wing chief in Rafah, Raed al-Atar, killed in IDF strike (Haaretz)

5:22 P.M. IAF strikes ammunition warehouse stocking Iranian-made Fajr missiles, in Gaza (Amos Harel)

5:17 P.M. Jabari assassination was part of operation in which IDF hit 20 targets across Gaza Strip (Avi Issacharoff)

5:16 P.M. Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz: I congratulate the prime minister on returning to the policy of assassinations; all those in the chain of command of terror organizations need to live in a constant pursuit (Jonathan Lis)

5:15 P.M. Israel's Cabinet convenes urgent meeting in light of Operation Pillar of Cloud (Barak Ravid)

5:13 P.M. Labor Chairwoman Shelly Yacimovich: Israel is united in its war against terrorism (Jonathan Lis)

Ahmed Jabari assassinated in Israeli airstrke

Ahmed Jabari, head of Hamas' military wing, was killed Wednesday in a targeted strike by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Islamist group said an Israeli airstrike hit a car in the Gaza Strip, killing both Jabari, who ran the organization's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam, and a passenger.

Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service confirmed it had carried out the attack, saying it had killed Jabari because of his "decade-long terrorist activity."

IDF Spokesperson said the purpose of the strikes was to deal a heavy blow to the Hamas command and control apparatus and to the organization's terrorist infrastructure.

The incident  appeared to end a 24-hour lull in cross-border violence that surged this week.

Jabari is the most senior Hamas official to be killed since Operation Cast Lead in Gaza four years ago. He has long topped Israel's most-wanted list.

Jabari, a relative of one of the founders of Hamas, Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi, was responsible for the attack on Kerem Shalom, when IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped and two other soldiers killed. Jabari was in charge of negotiations during Shalit's five years in captivity.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told mayors of southern Israeli cities under rocket attack that it was his responsibility to choose the right time to "exact the heaviest price" for the continual rocket fire from Gaza.

Since the flare-up with Gaza began, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have promised a sharp Israeli response to the rocket fire.

During the Be'er Sheva meeting with the southern Israeli mayors, Netanyahu said that Israel is not expected to undertake significant military action in Gaza at this stage, or to renew assassinations of Gaza militants.

"I am responsible for us choosing the right time to exact the heaviest price, and so be it," Netanyahu said. "Whoever thinks that they can damage the daily lives of residents of the south, and that they won't pay a heavy price for this – they are mistaken."