Former Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has said on Israeli radio that “Israel will have to seriously consider the option of conquering all of Gaza and really cleaning it out.”

Mr Lieberman’s comment came in response to the six rockets launched from the Gaza strip into southern Israel late on Sunday night and early on Monday morning. Reportedly, four of the rockets exploded in areas near Netivot and the Bnei Shimon region and two were intercepted by the Iron Dome.

On Monday morning, the Israel Defence Force retaliated with airstrikes against two weapons storage facilities and a rocket launching site in Gaza.

An IDF spokeseman said: “The IDF will not tolerate attempts to harm Israeli citizens, and our soldiers will continue to act against anyone who engages in terror against the state of Israel. The Hamas terror organisation is held responsible.”

Mr Lieberman added in his interview that if Israel does not respond “more significantly, in two years there will be Hamas missiles aimed at Tel Aviv and Netanya.”

Zahava Gal-on of Meretz has since accused Mr Lieberman of being a “warmonger” and has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “dampen the fighting spirit of his coalition.”