Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel’s military has prepared for a sustained rocket campaign from the Gaza Strip.

The military has instituted regulations that virtually end public life in much of the Jewish state. The regulations by the military’s Homefront Command ban gatherings routine for concerts, school assemblies and prayer.

“Gatherings of more than 500 civilians are forbidden,” the military said.

In a statement on Aug. 8, the military said the regulations were meant to protect Israelis from “extensive rocket barrages.” The statement was based on the assessment that Hamas and its Palestinian militia allies would continue to fire into major Israeli cities.

The military statement, issued ahead of the latest 72-hour ceasefire, reflected a sharp decline in government activity in many southern communities. Officials acknowledged that civil servants were no longer reporting to work at a range of government offices.

“This reality must change immediately, which will be made possible by clearly defining the objective to the security forces — toppling Hamas once and for all,” Housing Minister Uri Ariel said.

The 500-person limit on gatherings was meant for communities up to 40 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, including such major cities as Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba. The regulations also restricted activities for young people.

“Activity of kindergartens and summer camps are only permitted when a bomb shelter is found in the immediate vicinity,” the military said.

The military also imposed restrictions on the areas around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The restrictions were relaxed on communities of between 40 and 80 kilometers from the Gaza Strip.

“Gatherings of more than 1,000 civilians are forbidden,” the military said.

Tens of thousands of residents near the Gaza Strip fled their homes during the war with Hamas, in which more than 3,000 rockets were fired toward the Jewish state. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they could return home, but the residents remain fearful of Hamas tunnels in Israel.

“There isn’t a technological system in the world that can provide a solution for the tunnel threat,” Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, head of the army’s Southern Command, said.

  bans large gatherings, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gaza Strip, Homefront Command, Israel resigned to continued rocket threat, Uri Ariel