It appears that our
leadership is serious this time around, and that at this point we're doing
OK. This is a major operation we're in the midst of in Gaza.
I shared its goals, as spelled out
by Defense Minister Barak, last week, and share them again now as Foreign
Minister Lieberman has put it:
[] to restore the calm in Israel's
south
[] reinstate Israel's
deterrence
And I emphasize once again that
the last one on the list is of critical importance and makes it imperative that
we keep going. Not enough to have calm if they would be able to hit again
in a week or a month.
Elaborating, Lieberman said: "The
only way we can achieve peace and security is to create real deterrence via a
crushing response that will make sure they don't try to test us again."
~~~~~~~~~~
It is not certain yet whether
there will be a ground operation, but the fact that 75,000 reserve troops have
been called up and tanks have been brought near the border with Gaza makes it a
reasonable likelihood.
Lieberman says that if we do go
in, we won't pull out until the job is done.
~~~~~~~~~~
Since the beginning of the
operation Wednesday night, roughly 750 rockets have been launched from Gaza into
Israel -- almost 500 have struck and 250 have been intercepted by Iron
Dome.
There were 150 rockets launched
against Israel over Shabbat. Ten people -- including four soldiers -- were
lightly injured and four homes were hit.
Last night the siren went off in
Jerusalem, but the rocket that was apparently aimed at our Golden City ended up
landing in Gush Etzion.
This morning another rocket was
headed towards Tel Aviv but was intercepted by an Iron Dome unit that had just
been installed there.
~~~~~~~~~~
I am having trouble locating the
approximate number of strikes the Air Force has done in Gaza since Wednesday
night -- I've seen numbers ranging from 500 to 900.
Overnight, the IDF targeted
approximately 150 medium-range rocket launching sites as well as ammunition
storage facilities across the Gaza Strip.
During the day today,
the Air Force targeted multiple sites as well as key personnel. Long
range rocket and missile storage sites have been hit in substantial number,
along with tunnels and launching sites.
This morning, reports the
IDF (www.idf.il), "the senior member of
Hamas' Air Defense Unit, Mohammed Kaleb, was targeted... In
addition, a major Hamas base in the southern Gaza Strip was
targeted.
"A short while ago...a senior Hamas operative in charge of the terror organization's smuggling operations, and who was actively involved in its armament build-up was targeted in the southern Gaza Strip."
"A short while ago...a senior Hamas operative in charge of the terror organization's smuggling operations, and who was actively involved in its armament build-up was targeted in the southern Gaza Strip."
Also hit was the Hamas
headquarters, which included the offices of Ismail Haniyeh, political head of
Hamas. The building was leveled but he was not there -- almost certainly he
is underground. As well, the home of Ahmed Randor – chief of Hamas'
northern command -- was hit; the fact that secondary explosions followed
indicates that he was storing weaponry or related explosives.
~~~~~~~~~~
What we can now anticipate is a
steady stream of international figures who will come here to Israel to push for
a ceasefire. This is nervous-making. The international community should
stay out of it and let us do what we need to do.
Hamas leaders have reportedly
rejected several international proposals brought to them for a cease fire: they
are continuing to demonstrate a belligerency that means we must keep
going. I picked up from one reliable source information about Hamas
demands for acceptance of a ceasefire that included the end of the Israeli
blockade of Gaza in the Mediterranean. If this is true, it is a joke: We
should take out their weapons and then let them bring in new ones by sea,
right?
~~~~~~~~~~
It is important to point out, as
figures are released on the number of Israeli civilians vs. the
number civilians in Gaza who have been killed, why there will always
be an imbalance, with more dead in Gaza:
We protect our civilians. We sound
sirens to give them warnings. We provide shelters for them to run
to. We give advice on how to be safe and close schools in areas at
risk. In certain areas -- notably Sderot -- we have reinforced homes and
other buildings.
Hamas does none of this to
protect their civilians. Instead, Hamas deliberately sets up situations that
make their civilians more vulnerable. For Hamas, the fact of
dead civilians is a weapon to use against Israel -- they care not a bit for
the lives of these people.
These basic facts should never be
forgotten.
~~~~~~~~~~
As might have been expected, I
have received a huge number of communications about the current situation, and
would like to address a couple of matters here:
First, I do hope that it is clear
that I do not have Netanyahu's ear. Thus, telling me what Israel "should"
do or "must" do is pointless.
And then, in particular, is it
pointless to say that Israel should "get rid of all of them now," "wipe them out
as they would wipe Israel out," etc.
In terms of "taking them out,"
there are, first, several practical, logistical factors to
address:
It must be understood that we are
not talking about a standing army that can simply be bombed from overhead or
confronted in direct battle. Those days are gone.
Though Hamas's military
wing has over time shaped up to be more professional, more like an army, it
is essentially composed of guerilla forces. That is, there is no way to
identify who is in that "army" -- they don't wear uniforms and congregate
in organized fashion. They are often underground, or hiding in civilian
homes or even in schools and hospitals. The only way to "get them all"
would be to send in our boys to do a house by house, building
by building search -- a horrendous prospect that would still be less
than totally effective.
~~~~~~~~~~
For those who suggest we just wipe
everyone out, including civilians, I protest most vociferously that Israel never
will operate this way -- but quite the contrary. There is no nation on
earth more concerned with protecting civilians when fighting.
This does not make us "naive," as
has been suggested to me. It means that we are honoring our own moral
standard and the international law of the Geneva Conventions on War. The
fact that our enemy cares about neither morality nor law does not mean we have
to stoop to becoming what they are. We can hold our heads high because of
what we are, and work to defend ourselves while applying those
standards.
~~~~~~~~~~
Is there an inequity built into
our battle with groups such as Hamas (just as American soldiers struggle
with inequities when confronting such terrorists as the Taliban)?
There is. For they fight "dirty." But we guard ourselves the best we
can.
~~~~~~~~~~
As to taking back all of Gaza,
which has been suggested by a small handful of readers -- this transcends what
is practical right now for a host of reasons, including the difficulties I've
already described above. A sure way to step into an
extensive quagmire, would be to attempt to "take" a Gaza that is riddled
with terrorist groups.
Better, make them afraid of us,
and eliminate the most dangerous weapons they have to use against us, and work
to prevent them from re-arming.
On that note, there have been
thoughts (which I mention here purely speculatively) with regard not to taking
Gaza in totality, but the Philadelphi Corridor, which is the small strip of land
that runs along the border between Gaza and the Sinai. Controlling that
once again would enable us to take out the smuggling tunnels that run beneath
that area and are used for bringing in weapons.
~~~~~~~~~~
Lastly, on this subject, I remind
everyone that we are still confronting the issue of Iran -- even though it seems
to have fallen off the radar screen at the moment.
On the one hand, better to
eliminate the ability of terror groups in Gaza to hit us hard with rockets
in case the decision is subsequently made to take on Iran. The
assumption has long been that Iran, if attacked, would give orders for
these groups to launch attack on us, to weaken and distract us.
On the other hand, since we still
may have to confront that greater enemy, it would be very unwise to embroil
ourselves in that quagmire, so that our resources would be depleted and our
focus drawn elsewhere for an extended period. What we do now has to be relatively quick.
~~~~~~~~~~
One reader, Susie R., sent me an
insightful comment that I want to share here. I had said that the world
doesn't care if Jews die. She says that the world never cares who
dies. And indeed, in Africa, in Syria, in many places there are large
numbers of people dying, and the world remains oblivious.
What the world cares about, she
says, is who does the killing: "If Jews do the killing
(self-defense, pro-active) or even engage in self-protection in which no one
necessarily dies (security fences, checkpoints), the world goes
nuts."
I thank her for this
point.
~~~~~~~~~~
Lastly, but of special
significance, I make a request for prayers on behalf of Israel during this
time. From your heart.
One reader, Menachem K., a Jewish
educator, believes Psalm 20 is especially good: "I know that the Lord
will give victory to his anointed...They call on chariots, they call on horses,
but we call on the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and lie
fallen, but we rally and gather strength. O Lord, grant
victory!"
~~~~~~~~~~
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Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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