Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich today ruled out any ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, as the Israeli military continues to escalate airstrikes against the tiny Gaza Strip, and is building up for a ground invasion.

The cabinet has given the military authorization to mobilize up to 40,000 reservists as part of preparations for a ground invasion of Gaza, though so far there is no confirmation that such an invasion yet. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did, however, say that whatever sort of war Israel carries out “may take time.”

Army sources also say that the planning right now is for a “long operation” against Gaza, and with so many hawks in the government pushing for a full conquest of the strip it is hard to imagine Israel stopping short of such a war.

Israel invades or attacks the Gaza Strip on a fairly regular basis, and threatens to do so even more often. Since the large-scale 2008-09 invasion of Gaza, Israel has launched significant operations against Gaza at least once a year, including a massive aerial campaign in 2012.

As is always the case during Israeli attacks on Gaza, the US government has endorsed the operations, saying that Israel has ever right to conduct military offensives in the name of “self defense.”