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Gaza Missiles Target Civilians
Kidnappings were prevented, the war was re-ignited -- just as Hamas intended, timing and all. Tuesday night an Israeli armored force entered Gaza in an effort to destroy a Hamas tunnel which opened to the Kissufim Israeli Military position on the Gaza border. The purpose of the tunnel was to transport Israeli kidnap victims into the nearly impenetrable warren of tunnels in Gaza, there to be held hostage indefinitely in dark, damp confinement.
Amos Gilad, diplomatic-military bureau chief for the Defense Ministry, was interviewed Wednesday by Israel radio and said that the ceasefire remains in effect. This is the typical Israeli response to Hamas violations of the ceasefire (as it has been to the flagrant Hizbollah re-arming in Lebanon), in spite of the fact that even building such a tunnel was an obvious and threatening violation of the terms of the agreement. It was precisely such a tunnel that was used to transport kidnapped Gilad Shalit in 2006. He still waits unseen but not forgotten, a Hamas hostage.
Six Israeli soldiers were injured, 4 lightly, during the action. Soon afterward, Israel responded to a barrage of Hamas missiles by killing 5 men at the launch sites.[see Haaretz video]
Of course, not only the tunnel but the actual kidnapping is directly intended end the ceasefire. Hamas’ goal is to renew the war and the timing is obvious: With Obama in the midst of a victory celebration, Hamas began “firing” telegrams at the new American administration by opening fire on Israeli communities.
Gaza Qassam in Ashkelon
“The 44 Grad rockets, Qassam missiles and mortar rounds which blasted Israel from Gaza Wednesday, Nov. 5, were fired from houses close to the border fence which Hamas had turned into fortified firing positions. Borrowing Hizballah’s tricks from the 2006 Lebanon war, the Hamas firing squads remove the roofs and cover the top floors with camouflage netting easily removed for attacks.
To spot these heavily-disguised launching pads, round-the-clock aerial observation is necessary.” Debkafile Exclusive Report
Even though the missiles continued on Thursday and Friday there has been no significant response from Israel to the barrage of missiles aimed at Israeli towns and cities. With one or two exceptions Hamas has had a free hand to fire at will.
Parents in Ashkelon, a city north of Gaza, decided send their children to school late on Friday morning to protest the government's failure to prevent renewed rocket-fire. Several people had been hospitalized for shock after missiles landed in one of their neighborhoods on Wednesday.
Finally, late Wednesday an Israel Air Force strike targeted a Qassam firing squad in the northern Gaza Strip killing at least one Palestinian gunman. This time, Islamic Jihad claimed the dead man as a one of their own. Perhaps in a prediction of what awaits Israel,
“DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources further disclose that an anti-tank missile strike against an IDF patrol south of the Kissufim Gaza crossing last Friday, Oct. 31, was not carried out by Hamas, but an al Qaeda cell located in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younes. This cell calls itself Al Qaeda-Palestine.”
There seems to be no limit that the lame duck Israeli government will defend, not even at the cost of the lives of Israeli civilians. Debkafile Exclusive Report
Israel Responds to Hamas Missiles