Truly, I didn't expect this to
happen. There was a lot of talk from Israeli leadership about taking
action against Hamas because of some 150 rockets launched into southern
Israel. Talk. And then news broke about a cease fire being brokered by
Egypt. And Defense Minister Barak made a statement about the "resilience"
of the residents in Israel's south.
And I thought, oh no.
Agreeing to temporary quiet yet again, waiting for the terrorists in Gaza
to decide when to launch the next attack against those "resilient"
residents?
But the military surprised me, and
all of us, and acted.
~~~~~~~~~~
A series of airstrikes was
launched by the Air Force inside of Gaza late this afternoon. The key
strike was the bombing of a car in Gaza City, which instantly killed
Ahmed al-Jaabari, the head of the military wing of Hamas (Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
Brigades).
Credit:
TimesofIsrael
Reportedly, his son was killed as
well, and two others wounded.
~~~~~~~~~~
The IDF has now announced that it
has launched a "widespread campaign on terror sites and operatives in the
Gaza Strip, chief among them Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets."
This campaign has been dubbed
"Operation Pillar of Defense." In Hebrew it's "Amud Anan," which alludes
to the pillar of cloud that led that the Hebrews in the Sinai after the Exodus
from Egypt. I like that. And once there's a name applied, we know it's
serious and not just a one time event we're looking at.
Said IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav
Mordechai,"...Jaabari is the first target… We’ve only just started, and this
isn’t the end of it. All of the options are open, and we will persist in our
determination to continue to hit all of the [terror] organizations further down
the line.
"While we are not talking about
conquering all of Gaza, there is preparation for a ground operation as
well, which will be undertaken if it is necessary. The required military units
that need to be diverted for such an operation are at the ready."
A Shin Bet statement clarified
that, "By nature of his position, Jaabari has been responsible over the
past decade for all anti-Israel terror activity emanating from the [Gaza]
Strip," That's a whole lot of terror activity. He oversaw the
abduction of Gilad Shalit (and personally escorted him to the Rafah Crossing
when he was released). And he played a major role in the Hamas
take-over of Gaza from Fatah in 2007.
According to military officials,
the ability to hit him was made possible through "precise intelligence" that had
been gathered over a period of months. Twice before his home had been
targeted but he avoided being hit; he was a very careful man. Until
now.
Credit:
news.iowapublicradio
~~~~~~~~~~
Other Israeli airstrikes today
aimed for targets in Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah; in all, some 20
targets have been hit. Reportedly, Raed Atar, head of Hamas’s Rafah
Battalion, has been killed; some of the strikes targeted
reinforced silos of sophisticated Fajr 3 and Fajr 5 missiles -- which have
a longer range capability.
~~~~~~~~~~
Please understand: What we have
been doing in response to rocket attacks for some time now is striking
against crews that had just launched rockets or were preparing to do
so. Occasionally we hit a smuggling tunnel. This was of minimal
concern to Hamas leadership, as there were always other crews and other
launchings, and lots of other tunnels. While it was an attempt to
show we were "doing something," such action is fairly worthless
as a deterrent or as reprisal.
What was done today, and
presumably will continue to be done, has very real impact. Not only are we
aiming to eliminate leaders who are able to plan the attacks -- thus reducing
the terror groups' capacity to plan and act, we undermine morale,
and strike fear in those leaders who haven't been hit (yet). When
you're busy deciding where to hide, you have less time to plot attacks against
Israel and you begin to think twice about doing so at all.
(Although, they do have the option
of hiding in hospitals, as they did last time so bravely -- using the sick as
human shields while planning their war, confident that Israel, even knowing that
they are there, would not hit a hospital.)
In addition, caches of weapons and
other infrastructure will be struck. This doesn't eliminate Hamas, or
Islamic Jihad, but it's the beginning of
a credible, blow.
~~~~~~~~~~
Of course, Hamas will not sit
still for this. Its armed wing declared that Israel has "opened the gates
of hell." We're at war now, says Hamas.
Rockets have been launched at
Sderot and Ashkelon. It's only going to get more intense and life will not
be normal for the people of the south for some while. But it's different, I have
no doubt, and easier to deal with, when the government is acting.
~~~~~~~~~~
Today, Prime Minister Netanyahu
and Defense Minister Ehud Barak went north, and engaged in public discussion of
the situation in Syria. There is speculation (reasonable) that this was
done to divert the attention of Hamas and make it possible to catch them off
guard.
~~~~~~~~~~
In April of 2004, political head
of Hamas, Abdel Aziz Ali Abdulmajid al-Rantissi, was taken out
when Israel fired missiles from an Apache helicopter at his
car.
That was only a brief time
after Israel had hit the terrorist mastermind and head of Hamas, Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin, by targeting his car.
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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