Diplomatic and political signals are that a Gaza operation is all but inevitable – and that the Hamas’s rocket barrages are going to be brutal on Israeli civilians:
According to leaks from Jerusalem Sunday, a decision has been made for an extensive military action, and a ground operation is not out of the question… Targets might also include Hamas bases, offices, and if there’s an escalation, assassinations of senior Hamas officials… Israel must now decide among a number of bad options. A point the media has missed over the past few days is that most of the rockets are being launched by Islamic Jihad and smaller factions, which Hamas has stopped reining in. If Hamas goes into action, there could be 100 rockets a day instead of dozens.
That’s in addition to the wave of suicide bombings that they’ve been preparing for months. Militarily Israel faces 20,000 well-armed and heavily-armed Palestinian soldiers. Good Lord:
Since the unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Hamas has been involved in one of the most intensive military buildups – for a terrorist group – in modern history. It, everyone knows, is no longer a small terrorist group just capable of building explosive belts for suicide bombings. While Hamas used the past six months of a “cease-fire” to train its forces, it also took advantage of the suspension in IDF operations to fortify its military posts in the Gaza Strip. According to one high-ranking security official, Hamas has dug dozens of kilometers of tunnel systems throughout Gaza that will be used by fighters to move from one place to another undetected… Hamas has also dug foxholes throughout the Strip for anti-tank missile units as well as for massive bombs that have been placed on the main roads into Gaza.
Best. Ceasefire. Ever. I’ve put a put JCPA’s map of missile ranges behind the jump to give you a sense of how deep into Israel Hamas will be firing:
But you already knew that.
At least Fatah isn’t crawling to Hamas and begging for reconciliation after Hamas rolled them in the Gaza Strip.
References:
* Israel Suiting Up For Gaza Op? [MR]
* ANALYSIS / When it comes to Gaza, Israel must choose between bad and worse options [Ha'aretz]
* Hamas mulls renewal of suicide bombings in Israel [Ha'aretz]
* Mere Rhetoric: Palestinians On Molotov Cocktail Bender, Armies Of Suicide Bomber Brides Failing To Blow Themselves Up [MR]
* Meet the Hamas military leadership [JPost]
* Another Day Another Palestinian Rocket Barrage. New Rockets Bring Hundreds Of Thousands Of Israelis Within Range. [MR]
* Hamas, Fatah lawmakers put together petition urging faction reconciliation [JPost]
Previously:
* Hamas Celebrates Official End Of Ceasefire By Launching Rockets, Taking Pot Shots At Israeli Civilians
* Hamas: As A Reminder, We’re Not Renewing The Ceasefire We’ve Been Breaking On A Daily Basis
* Hamas Exploiting Ceasefire To Train Waves Of New Soldiers In Former Jewish Settlements, Synagogues (Plus: Fatah’s Al Qaeda Intifada?)
