No one is naive in Gaza, says Israeli minister

Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli defence minister, said yesterday that there were “no naive people” in the Hamasrun Gaza Strip after 30 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including a journalist.

“Everyone’s connected to Hamas, everyone gets a salary from Hamas, and all the activists trying to challenge us and breach the border are Hamas military-wing activists,” Mr Lieberman told Israel’s public radio.

The defence minister used a Hebrew word that can also be translated as “innocent”, as news media initially quoted him as saying. His office later insisted that his intended meaning was “naive”.