He said this during an address to the nation.
"Israel is not interested in prolonged hostilities in the Gaza Strip, but is not afraid of them," Lapid was quoted as saying by TASS.
According to him, the Israeli side will "act as long as it takes to eliminate the threat" to its citizens.
Earlier, the death toll from Israeli airstrikes in the Palestinian Gaza Strip rose to ten.
Prior to this, Israel announced Operation Dawn against the Islamic Jihad group.
A state of emergency has been declared along the 80-kilometer border between Israel and the enclave.