WarSclerotic

Two more soldiers killed in Gaza,IDF expands ground operation

By YAAKOV LAPPIN07/20/2014 05:22

Staff Sergenat Bania Roval, 20, from the Paratroopers 101st Battalion, was shot dead by a terrorist in a tunnel; 2nd-Lt. Bar Rahav, 21, was killed by a missile defense system’s activation in a nearby tank.

via Two more soldiers killed in Gaza, IDF expands ground operation | JPost | Israel News.

Large numbers of Ground Forces entered the Gaza Strip overnight between Saturday and Sunday as Israel expanded its operation against Hamas. The increased presence in Gaza is aimed at destroying Hamas infrastructure, the IDF said.

It came after the government decided to move into the next stage of the operation, and after the units sent into Gaza completed intensive training and preparations.

Earlier on Saturday, two more soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced, bringing the total number of Israeli military casualties to five since the start of the ground offensive.

Staff Sergeant Bania Roval, a 20-year-old soldier from Holon, serving in the Paratroopers 101st Battalion, was shot dead by a terrorist in Gaza who emerged from a tunnel shaft and opened fire at soldiers. The terrorist was shot dead in return fire.

“Controlling tunnel shafts doesn’t give us full control of the entire tunnel,” a senior military source said.

The second soldier, 2nd-Lt. Bar Rahav, 21, from Ramat Yishai, from the Engineering Corps, was killed as a result of the activation of the Trophy missile defense system in a nearby tank. The system successfully blocked an anti-tank missile fired at the vehicle, but the soldier was killed in the process. The IDF is investigating.

Military sources said Hamas gunmen have increased their attacks on soldiers who are searching and finding tunnel entrances in Palestinian homes near the border with Israel. Simultaneously, Hamas has ordered its members to use remaining tunnels for immediate cross-border attacks against Israeli civilians and military targets. Thirteen cross-border tunnels have been destroyed since Thursday night. The air force had struck some 500 targets since the start of the ground operation.

The IDF feels it has gained “significant control” of cross-border attack tunnels, and that this development is “upsetting Hamas,” the source added. Hamas is doing its best to hamper the army’s efforts, and attempts to send a donkey with explosives and a suicide bomber on a motorcycle on Friday are part of those attempts. Hamas is also trying to kidnap soldiers.

Additionally, two terrorists attempted to attack a D-9 armored bulldozer used in uncovering tunnels by the Engineering Corps. In the attack, two terrorists emerged from a tunnel entrance. One, a suicide bomber, detonated his explosives, and the second fired an anti-tank missile. Both were killed in the incident.

Analysis: Fighting terrorists who move around in ambulances, Jerusalem Post, Yaakov Lappin, July 20, 2014

Hamas is an expert at embedding itself in the midst of the Palestinian civilian population and using it as human shields, to seek immunity from the army.

Israel’s decision to launch a ground offensive provides it with an important advantage in the war against Hamas.

A ground maneuver gives the IDF the ability to move in enemy territory, destroying targets from up close, while still deploying firepower from the air throughout.

It is a concept as old as Israeli military history. Today, however, Hamas represents the asymmetrical enemy that defines combat in our times.

Hamas is an expert at embedding itself in the midst of the Palestinian civilian population and using it as human shields, to seek immunity from the army.

In recent days, IDF sources reported spotting Hamas gunmen boarding ambulances in Gaza filled with children.

Hamas urged residents of northern Gaza to remain in their homes, and provide cover for its concentration of rocket launch squads in that area.

These tactics are designed to provide the terrorist organization with protection from the IDF.

They are the same tactics that have prevented the air force from destroying all of Hamas’s rocket infrastructure, hidden deep under residential buildings, or targeting its leadership, which is hiding under the Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

Hamas spread out its assets across Gaza, and there is no one center of gravity for the IDF to target.

The military operation is complex and long, and the IDF’s focus on destroying tunnels is only the first stage of the ground maneuver.

Despite their tactics, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are in trouble. They have lost more than half of their rockets supply – some 40 percent have been destroyed in air force attacks and another 1,700 rockets have been fired at Israel. Many rockets remain, but the supply is beginning to dwindle.

Military sources said significant gains have already been made on the ground. destroyed. Rockets continue to be destroyed from the air, as are enemy command and control centers.

On the defensive front, Iron Dome continues to frustrate Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s attempt to inflict mass carnage and large numbers of casualties in Israeli cities.

Hamas invested years in building up its offensive assets; tunnels, the rockets arsenal, and command and control centers. Yet efforts to activate these have mostly ended in failure.

Nevertheless, Hamas will continue to fire projectiles at Israeli cities, and try to send murder squads into Israel through tunnels, before the IDF discovers them.

It was Hezbollah that pioneered such tactics 20 years ago.

The Lebanese Shi’ite organization spent years building the model of asymmetric war that Hamas relies on in Gaza today.

Israeli security officials argued that this is the first time the defense establishment found an effective formula for dealing with it – offensively and defensively.

These efforts are backed by enhanced intelligence, and precision guided munitions, which represent new capabilities for Israel.

The security challenges of the previous decade, in which waves of Palestinian suicide bombers from West Bank cities left more than 1,200 Israelis dead, were significantly more severe, according to these officials.

Then, as now, it took some time for Israel to come up with an effective solution to the threat. Yet by 2005, the suicide bombing rampage had been extinguished.

Today, the officials feel, Israel is on its way to eliminating rocket terrorism as an effective tool for terrorist organizations.

Hezbollah, a far larger and better armed enemy, is watching the battle unfolding in the Strip closely. Its rocket arsenal is 10 times larger than that in Gaza, but the IDF is also able to hit 10 times as many targets as it did in Gaza.

Hezbollah also constructed subterranean terrorist assets in built up areas. Now, officials said, Hezbollah will be forced to reconsider its war doctrine.

Additionally, they said that the intelligence and offensive capabilities will most likely deter it from getting involved in a conflict with Israel.

Say the wrong thing, Power Line, Scott Johnson, July 19, 2014

We can count on President Obama not to do the right thing and to say the wrong thing. He treats our friends as enemies and our enemies as friends. He says the wrong thing when he would serve our interests by shutting up. He shuts up when saying the right thing would serve our interests.

Earlier today United States Ambassador Dan Shapiro posted a readout of this morning’s call between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Here it is:

This morning, I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel about the situation in Gaza. We discussed Israel’s military operation in Gaza, including its efforts to stop the threat of terrorist infiltration through tunnels into Israel. I reaffirmed my strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself. No nation should accept rockets being fired into its borders, or terrorists tunneling into its territory. In fact, while I was having the conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, sirens went off in Tel Aviv.

What do you make of that, bozo? So far so good, but Obama couldn’t leave it at that, of course. He continued:

I also made clear that the United States, and our friends and allies, are deeply concerned about the risks of further escalation and the loss of more innocent life. And that’s why we’ve indicated, although we support military efforts by the Israelis to make sure that rockets are not being fired into their territory, we also have said that our understanding is the current military ground operations are designed to deal with the tunnels, and we are hopeful that Israel will continue to approach this process in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and that all of us are working hard to return to the cease-fire that was reached in November of 2012.

And then we have this…anything but this!

Secretary Kerry is working to support Egypt’s initiative to pursue that outcome. I told Prime Minister Netanyahu that John is prepared to travel to the region following additional consultations.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a readout of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s side of the conversation. I would guess he spoke tactfully, while having some of the following thoughts running through his mind.

Israel is in a struggle with a genocidal enemy whose means of combat are a variety of war crimes. Israel regularly compromises its own operational security to prevent civilian casualties. It has been palpably reluctant to send its forces on the current invasion of Gaza, the casualties of which will be felt a thousandfold inside Israel.

By Obama’s reckoning, however, Israel is not concerned with further escalation and the loss of innocent life. He thinks he needs to counsel Israel publicly to toe the line while its men are in harm’s way. This is a calumny which Obama’s silence could only improve.

Israel’s hand has been forced, however, by Hamas and its tunnels, whose sole purpose is attacks on Israeli civilians (by rockets hidden there or by forces entering Israel through them). Here, courtesy of Omri Ceren of The Israel Project, are a few notes and citations regarding the tunnels:

Hamas has launched multiple attacks into Israel from their offensive tunnels. Last week there was an attempt to land on Zikim beach and launch an attack (http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4538&articleid=7181). The Kibbutz Sufa massagre was another (http://www.timesofisrael.com/tunnel-infiltration-thwarted-near-kibbutz-sufa/)

Those tunnels are part of a larger underground city underneath the Gaza Strip, which has defensive, offensive, and command & control dimensions. Miri Eisen, former head of the IDF’s combat intelligence unit: “All of the city of Gaza, throughout the different urban areas, which is so much a part of the Gaza Strip when you look at it from outside, these low-ranking urban areas, one, two, three-story houses all have a subterranean aspect. You’ve seen some of the tunnels that they have tunneled for a mile or two from the Gaza Strip into Israel because those we’ve exposed, but we have full intelligence information about the subterrian ones that they’ve built underneath the city. That’s where Ismail Haniyeh did his tape, tape that he showed a couple of days ago. It’s where they do their press conferences. Everything is underground.” (https://soundcloud.com/the-israel-project/us-communications-7-17-14-900)

Degrading the tunnels can’t be done from the air, because there’s no way to damage them without inflicting massive damage on civilian infrastructure. Col. Richard Kemp, a retired British Army officer who served as Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan: “We must commend Israel for the courage to put their soldiers’ lives at risk. The alternative would be carpet bombing & mass [civilian] casualties.” (https://twitter.com/COLRICHARDKEMP/status/489875919822008320)

Degrading the tunnels can’t be done from the air, because there’s no way to robustly detect them. Miri Eisen, former head of the IDF’s combat intelligence unit:: “The problem with the tunnels is of course that their detection is, is not accurate because you don’t have the visual aspect of the tunnel itself, you don’t have exactly the depth, and of course there are many other practical questions, is it protected, etc. etc. Usually what the IDF is doing is following and gutting the formation and waiting for the right moment either to ambush that, or to as we saw in Kerem Shalom a few weeks ago to bomb it in the last moment, this is the method that was chosen this time too.” (https://soundcloud.com/the-israel-project/us-communications-7-17-14-900)

Degrading the tunnels has the potential to do long-term damage to Hamas. Hamas can’t just rebuild like they have in the past. Amon Yadlin, former head of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) and current director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, “The fact that the tunnels used by Hamas for its military buildup after Cast Lead and Pillar of Defense were destroyed and closed by the Egyptians will make it possible to ensure that after a significant blow is struck at production facilities in Gaza, the post-operation buildup, if there is any, will be slow and limited.” (http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4538&articleid=7181)

“The military significance of [the tunnels] cannot be overemphasized.”Gabriel Schoenfeld , a senior fellow at the Hudson institute: “The military significance of all this cannot be overemphasized: Ultra-deep shelters for critical military facilities can be made formidably resistant to attack. It is exceedingly difficult to discern from the surface where tunnel ventilation shafts are located or in which direction a tunnel proceeds. One has only to consider the trouble Israel has had finding tunnels dug by Hamas out of the Gaza Strip that are just a couple of yards below the surface. Another difficulty is determining exactly what military activities are being conducted in any given tunnel.” (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/252djcxb.asp?pg=1)

For a report on the progress of Israel’s arms so far, see the Times of Israel report “IDF battles Hamas, uncovers tunnels, on 2nd day of ground op.” Subhed: “Gaza man appeals for medical help then tries to hurl grenades at soldiers; donkey despatched with explosives attached.”

Israel mobilizes another 50,000 reservists, DEBKAfile, July 19, 2014

(Accurate? The call up does not appear to have been reported elsewhere yet. — DM)

Saturday night, as fighting intensified in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced the call-up of another 50,000 reservists.

‘One blood, one enemy’: Solidarity for Gaza boils in West Bank, Christian Science Monitor, Ben Lynfield, July 19, 2014

(An eventual second front for Israel? — DM)

Anger is building in the West Bank amid the ongoing Israeli operation in Gaza, particularly toward Palestinian Authority security forces trying to tamp down demonstrations.

The Israeli operation in Gaza has aroused intense feelings of solidarity among West Bank Palestinians for their Gaza counterparts, fueling anger that could easily be sparked into widespread unrest.

”People can’t sit idly and watch their brothers dying in Gaza,” says Mahdi Abdul Hadi, director of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. ”What happens in the West Bank now will depend on how far the Israeli army will go ahead with reoccupying and dividing Gaza. It’s too early to say but there is anger and frustration among the youth.”

Although there have been localized clashes in the West Bank since the brutal murder of an East Jerusalem teenager, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, was followed by the launch of Israel‘s Gaza operation, mass protests have been noticeably absent. Although the anger is there, Palestinian security forces’ efforts to contain demonstrations coupled with reticence to see a repeat of the violence and chaos of the second intifada seems to have so far curtailed greater action.

Neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority want to see another front of the war open in the West Bank, which is mostly under Israeli military control but contains self-rule enclaves nominally governed by the Palestinian Authority.

”People are very frustrated with what’s going on in Gaza and angry after the kidnap and murder [of Mohammed],” says Nabil Kukali, director of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion. Referring to the approximate eruption dates of the second and first intifada uprisings against Israel, Kukali added. ”The atmosphere is close to 2000 and 1988.”

SOLIDARITY FLARES UP

The anger was palpable even before the overnight ground operation into Gaza. At a demonstration late Wednesday, some 200 people marched through the streets towards the Israeli settlement of Beit El before being stopped by about 80 helmeted and shield-bearing Palestinian police.

Although Gaza and the West Bank have been politically divided, with little in-person interaction between residents of the two since 2007, fellowship is strong when conflicts like this flare.

“I’m a son of the Palestinian people, the Gazans are also Palestinians,'” Dia Ali says, explaining why he was protesting. “Our message to the occupation is that we are one people, one blood and we have one enemy, the occupation that is destroying Gaza and we have the right to resist through all means, from rocks to rockets.”

Protesters chanted, “Gaza you are sacrificing your blood for our dignity.” Many carried Palestinian flags, and one held up a sign reading, ”Stand by Gaza. Stop the Genocide.” A car among the demonstrators played a Hamas song. One of the lyrics is ”Take the land and security of Israel and make a volcano.”

Ziad Hamdan, an older merchant, said he came to the demonstration “because it is the least anyone can do to protest the killing in Gaza.” Referring to the killing of four Palestinian boys by Israeli fire on the Gaza beach Wednesday, Mr. Hamdan added bitterly, “They must have been dangerous to the Israelis, that’s why they killed them.”

COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL GRATES

When police blocked the marchers in a human chain, some of the demonstrators voiced their anger at the security cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

“We don’t need the cooperation with the Israelis, we need bullets and rockets,” they chanted. Hassan Khreisheh, deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, warned that demonstrators “are becoming so angry over the aggression against Gaza that they will not listen to the security forces.”

Abdullah Abdullah, a legislator who supports PA President Mahmoud Abbas, says that while the PA has tried to maintain calm, the effort ”is becoming really difficult. We can’t stand against the sentiment of our people for their brothers in Gaza.”

But an all-out uprising remains unlikely because there is no leadership, plans, or funding for this, Mr. Abdul Hadi of the Palestinian Academic Society says. Many Palestinians fear that an uprising would only bring a return of the chaos of the second intifada in the early 2000s, says Ghassan Khatib, vice president of Bir Zeit University in the West Bank and a former PA minister.

But Khalil Shaheen, director of research at the Masarat think-tank in Ramallah, stresses that the situation can change rapidly.

After Mohammed’s murder, Jerusalem rapidly became the site of intense clashes with Israeli police after years in which its Palestinian residents were criticized for not taking part in the national struggle, he notes.

“In Jerusalem, things changed in one night, they exploded. Another incident, maybe in Jerusalem, could cause a big explosion that would last a few years.”

Hamas Rocket Hits Egypt, Rafah Border Crossing

Security official claims rocket hit Egyptian territory ‘by mistake.’ Could this escalate tensions between Egypt and Hamas?

180 degrees into the wrong direction ! but it is a mistake !

By AFP and Arutz Sheva StaffFirst Publish: 7/19/2014, 11:29 PM / Last Update: 7/19/2014, 11:37 PM

via Hamas Rocket Hits Egypt, Rafah Border Crossing – Defense/Security – News – Arutz Sheva.

A rocket probably fired from the Gaza hit Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with the embattled Palestinian enclave on Saturday, wounding a soldier, a security official told AFP.

The rocket “was most likely fired from Gaza and fell into Egyptian territory by mistake,” the official said.

An estimated 1,600 rockets have been fired from Gaza since Operation Protective Edge began twelve days ago; the IDF has confirmed at least 1,497 have landed in Israel.

Diplomatic repercussions?

Egypt, under recently-elected President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has moved to isolate Hamas, accusing it of backing the Muslim Brotherhood on its own territory.

Egypt’s foreign ministry has condemned Israel’s ground offensive but it also lashed out at Hamas, saying the Islamist movement could have saved dozens of lives had it accepted Cairo’s proposal.

According to Kol Yisrael radio, the Egyptian government said it was placing the responsibility on Hamas for “the possible deaths of Palestinian civilians”, citing Hamas’s refusal to accept Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire.

The report quoted Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, as having said that had Hamas accepted the ceasefire proposal, it would have saved the lives of at least 40 Gazans who were killed in Israeli airstrikes.

Shoukry further said that Hamas was cooperating with Qatar and Turkey to harm Egypt’s status in the region.

Shoukry’s comments on Hamas echo those made earlier by Egypt’s former Foreign Minister, Mohammed Al-Arabi, who said that Hamas was not serious about a ceasefire – and that the terror group was deliberately trying to embarrass Egypt.

Speaking in an interview in an Egyptian newspaper, Al-Arabi blamed Hamas for not only failing to come to a ceasefire, but for “shedding the blood of innocent Palestinians” by continuing to attack Israel.

More to follow.

Arab Terrorists Cut Power Lines to Binyamin Communities

Dolev-Talmon Bloc suffers power outages; footage of deliberate attack posted to social media.

By Ornit AtzarFirst Publish: 7/19/2014, 11:02 PM / Last Update: 7/19/2014, 11:11 PM

via Terrorists Cut Power Lines to Binyamin Communities – Defense/Security – News – Arutz Sheva.

Palestinian Arabs deliberately cut electricity lines in the Dolev-Talmonim Bloc in Binyamin on Saturday, causing power outages throughout several communities over Shabbat.

Power was finally restored since the early evening hours in Dolev, Talmon, Harsha, Neria, Horesh, Yaron, and Nahaliel.

The terrorists uploaded footage of the attack on social media, confirming suspicions that the power cut was a deliberate assault on the Jewish communities in the region.

The IDF has vowed to increase security in the area, and the Israel Electric Company (IEC) is working on restoring electricity to additional communities in the region still suffering from power outages.

The Israel Police has also launched an investigation into the incident.

Erdogan calls Israel more barbaric than Hitler

Amid violent protests, Israel issues warning against non-essential travel to Turkey; some diplomatic staff have been ordered home

By Raphael Ahren and AP July 19, 2014, 10:32 pm

via Erdogan calls Israel more barbaric than Hitler | The Times of Israel.

ANKARA — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of “barbarism that surpasses Hitler” during its ground invasion of Gaza.

Erdogan made the comment during a campaign speech Saturday in the Black Sea port city of Ordu. He is running for the presidency in elections next month.

He has been speaking out strongly against Israel during its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, which has killed more than 300 Palestinians. Hamas has fired some 1,500 rockets at Israel and carried out a series of terrorist infiltrations via tunnels and from the sea in recent days.

Erdogan accuses Israel of using disproportionate force and has said the operation there has derailed efforts to normalize Turkish-Israeli ties. Those soured after Israel’s 2010 raid on a ship seeking to breach Israel’s security blockade on Hamas-run Gaza which killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American.

Hundreds have also staged protests in recent days outside Israeli diplomatic mission in Ankara and Istanbul.

Early Saturday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning to Israeli citizens against nonessential travel to Turkey. “Given the public atmosphere in Turkey in light of Operation Protective Edge, we are honing our recommendation to avoid visits to the state that aren’t essential,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Israel decided Friday to pull some of its diplomatic staff out of Turkey in the wake of violent protests targeting the buildings of its embassy and consulate in Ankara and Istanbul, an embassy spokesman said, as well as recent statements that accused Israel of attempting a “systematic genocide” on the Palestinian people.

After protests against Operation Protective Edge in front of Israel’s missions in Ankara and Istanbul turned violent Thursday night, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman instructed Israeli diplomats stationed in Turkey to return home.

“It was decided to reduce our diplomatic representation in the country to a possible minimum,” Liberman said in a statement.

The violent protests broke out after previous inciteful speeches by Erdoğan and because the country’s security forces did not properly fulfill their duty to prevent violence during such events, Liberman charged.

On Thursday, Erdoğan had fiercely attacked Israel’s operation against Hamas.

Since [Israel’s creation] in 1948, we have been witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every day and every month,” he said. “But above all, we are witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every Ramadan.”

Erdogan said the Israeli operation was derailing Turkish and Israeli efforts to mend ties.

Turkey’s foreign minister also “vehemently” condemned Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza.

On Twitter, Ahmet Davutoglu said the ground operation is testing “the conscience of humanity.”

Davutoglu called for emergency meetings of the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
A demonstrator throws stones after climbing a wall with a Palestinian flag at the Israeli Embassy in Ankara during a protest against Israel’s military action in Gaza, on July 18, 2014. (Photo credit: AFP/ADEM ALTAN)

Israel vehemently protested Turkish authorities’ blatant and rude violation of diplomatic rules, including the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, during the protests, Liberman added.

On Thursday night, hundreds of protesters attacked the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, while similar numbers sought to break into the residence of the ambassador in Ankara.

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannons to halt the protests in Istanbul in the early hours of the morning, but in Ankara they stood on the sidelines.

The crowds in Istanbul, waving Palestinian flags, hurled stones and smashed the windows of the consulate in the upscale Levent district to denounce the Israeli military operation.

Rioters in front of the consulate chanted, “Fight! Martyrdom!”

Police pushed the crowd back at times, and many of the ruling AK Party MPs were in the crowd.

Islamic State overruns Camp Speicher, routs Iraqi forces, Long War Journal, Bill Roggio, July 19, 2014

The latest failed Tikrit offensive and the loss of Camp Speicher highlight the deteriorating condition of the Iraqi armed forces. The military has been forced to cobble together units since at least four of its 15 regular army divisions are no longer viable. The Long War Journal estimates that at least seven divisions have been rendered ineffective since the beginning of the year; see Threat Matrix report, US advisers give dark assessment of state of Iraqi military.

In Tikrit, the military is fighting alongside poorly trained militias who are ill-suited to conduct offensive operations. Additionally, SWAT forces, while highly trained and likely more motivated than regular forces, are being misused as infantry.

Two days after repelling an Iraqi military attempt to retake the city of Tikrit, the Islamic State and its allies are said to have overrun Camp Speicher, a large base just outside the city that was being used in the failed effort to retake the provincial capital.

The Islamic State’s Salahaddin Division claimed in an official statement released on Twitter yesterday that it overran Camp Speicher and is in “control of the airport and the base completely.” In the statement, the Islamic State claimed it killed “scores” of Iraqi military personnel, including a brigadier general and a colonel. It also said that a number of pilots were killed in a “martyrdom” or suicide operation on the base before it was overrun.

The Islamic State also said it destroyed seven aircraft on the tarmac and its “detachments of air defense” shot down two additional aircraft, all of which are thought to be helicopters. The Iraqi military had been using helicopters to ferry troops and supplies to Camp Speicher and Tikrit University, where special forces troops attempted to gain a foothold in the northern part of the city.

Additionally, the Islamic State said it destroyed several armored and other vehicles, while the base’s fuel supply was set ablaze.

The Islamic State’s claims were echoed by McClatchy, who interviewed residents of Tikrit as well as a Kurdish military officer. One Tikrit resident said that more than 700 Iraqi soldiers and 150 “Iranians,” who are likely members of the Shia militias that have been augmenting the military, were based at Speicher. Captured members of the military and militia are said to have been paraded in the streets of Tikrit. Many are said to have been executed.

The Iraqi government and the military, which have released only rosy assessments of the fighting on all fronts, have not commented on the situation in Tikrit.

The Iraqi military made its first effort to retake Tikrit in late June, when it airlifted commandos into Tikrit University in an effort to gain a toehold north of the city. An advance on the city from the south was defeated. Then, on July 16, the Iraqi military launched Operation Decisive Sword. A large column of military and militia units entered southern Tikrit and thought they liberated the city, but as they celebrated they were ambushed with suicide bombers, IEDs, and conventional attacks. The Iraqi forces then withdrew from the city.

After the Iraqi military withdrew from southern Tikrit on July 16, the Islamic State immediately began its assault on Camp Speicher, as the base was the last remaining holdout of Iraqi forces near the city (Iraqi forces were withdrawn from Tikrit University sometime before the second offensive was launched).

The loss of Camp Speicher, and perhaps more importantly, the loss of the helicopters and its pilots if the Islamic State’s claims are true, is a serious blow to both the morale and the operational capabilities of the Iraqi military. The Iraqi military, which has failed to retake major cities and towns from the Islamic State and its allies, now may find it more difficult to support and defend the Bayji oil refinery just to the north, which has been largely resupplied by helicopters.

Iraqi military is in disarray

The latest failed Tikrit offensive and the loss of Camp Speicher highlight the deteriorating condition of the Iraqi armed forces. The military has been forced to cobble together units since at least four of its 15 regular army divisions are no longer viable. The Long War Journal estimates that at least seven divisions have been rendered ineffective since the beginning of the year; see Threat Matrix report, US advisers give dark assessment of state of Iraqi military.

In Tikrit, the military is fighting alongside poorly trained militias who are ill-suited to conduct offensive operations. Additionally, SWAT forces, while highly trained and likely more motivated than regular forces, are being misused as infantry.

The Iraqi military and the government have been unable to regain control of Ninewa and much of Salahaddin and Diyala provinces after losing them in an offensive launched by the Islamic State and its allies that began on June 10. Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, is firmly under the control of the Islamic State.

Most of Anbar as well as northern Babil province are also under the Islamic State’s control. Fallujah and other cities and towns fell after the Islamic State went on the offensive in Anbar at the beginning of January. The Iraqi military has been unable to retake areas in Anbar lost earlier this year. Half of Ramadi, the provincial capital, is said to be held by the Islamic State. The military recently airlifted 4,000 militiamen to Ramadi, a further indication that the two Iraqi divisions stationed in Anbar, the 1st and the 7th, are no longer cohesive fighting forces.

Netanyahu to UN’s Ban: no symmetry between terror organizations and democratic country, Jerusalem Post, By Herb Keinon, July 19, 2014

(Here they go again with the faux “proportionality” nonsense. Israel does all that she can reasonably to avoid civilian casualties while Hamas, et al, do everything within their power to increase them — and not only in Israel. — DM)

UN Secretary-General heads to the Middle East, amid key voices around the world supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, while expressing concern about the civilian casualties in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said Ban was “prepared to do his part” to end the violence. Feltman said that while Israel has legitimate security concerns, the United Nations “is alarmed by Israel’s heavy response.”

Regarding the ground incursion, Feltman said that Ban is “extremely concerned that this escalation will further increase the already appalling death toll among Gazan civilians.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a news conference in Andorra April 2, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Albert Gea

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon left Saturday for the Middle East, amid key voices around the world supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, while expressing concern about the civilian casualties in Gaza.

US President Barack Obama issued a statement Friday, reaffirming his “strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself.

“No nation should accept rockets being fired into its borders, or terrorists tunneling into its territory,” said Obama, who spoke with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday. Obama pointed out that while he was speaking to Netanyahu, “sirens went off in Tel Aviv.”

“I also made clear that the United States, and our friends and allies, are deeply concerned about the risks of further escalation and the loss of more innocent life,” Obama said of his conversation with Netanyahu. “And that’s why we’ve indicated, although we support military efforts by the Israelis to make sure that rockets are not being fired into their territory, we also have said that our understanding is the current military ground operations are designed to deal with the tunnels, and we are hopeful that Israel will continue to approach this process in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and that all of us are working hard to return to the cease-fire that was reached in November of 2012.”

Meanwhile, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said Ban was “prepared to do his part” to end the violence. Feltman said that while Israel has legitimate security concerns, the United Nations “is alarmed by Israel’s heavy response.”

Regarding the ground incursion, Feltman said that Ban is “extremely concerned that this escalation will further increase the already appalling death toll among Gazan civilians.”

Netanyahu, who on Friday spoke to numerous world leaders to shore up understanding for Israel’s actions, spoke to Ban and said Israel was sorry for all accidental harm befalling Gazan citizens. Hamas, he said, intentionally fires at millions of Israeli citizens.

Netanyahu told Ban there was no “symmetry” between murderous terrorist organizations and a democratic and moral country attack by rockets and via tunnels. He called on the UN to publish the pictures of rockets stored in an UNRWA school, saying that Hamas hides rockets on schools in order to fire them on Israeli schools.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, issued a statement on Friday saying Israel has the “right to defend itself,” and that this must be done in a “reasonable manner.”

France, whose Foreign Minister arrived in Israel Saturday evening and met with Netanyahu, issued a statement saying it was “very concerned” by Israel decision to launch a ground offensive, and called on Israel to act with “maximum restraint.”

France, according to diplomatic officials, is among the group of countries interested in issuing an expansive statement following a meeting of EU foreign ministers meeting on Tuesday that would also deal with details of the diplomatic process, such as settlement construction, Jerusalem and Area C.

Israel is trying to avoid that type of statement at this time, wanting instead to see a short statement focusing on the situation in Gaza. A wider statement now dealing with issues like Har Homa and building in E-1 between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim would be completely out of context and divert attention from the current situation, diplomatic officials said.

On Friday the EU issued a statement saying that it was “very concerned about the escalation in the Gaza Strip including the resumption of rocket fire into Israel and the Israeli ground operation. “ The statement said there has already been “too many civilian deaths, including many children such as those killed on a beach in Gaza. We strongly deplore such incidents and we call for them to be investigated swiftly. We condemn the continued firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel by Hamas and other militant groups and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians. We share the UN condemnation of the placement of rockets in a UN school. Israel has the right to protect its population from this kind of attacks. In doing so, it must act proportionately and ensure the protection of civilians at all times.”

Diplomatic officials said that while there has been understanding abroad for Israel’s actions, there will inevitably be more talk of “proportionality” abroad as the operation continues.

“The game changer has always been a ground operation,” one official said.

Some countries, however, have not shown any understanding. On such country is Brazil, which issued a statement saying that it “vehemently condemns the Israeli bombardment of Gaza with disproportionate use of force, which resulted in the deaths of more than 230 Palestinians, many of them unarmed civilians and children. It equally condemns the firing of rockets and mortars from Gaza into Israel. The Brazilian government rejects the current Israeli ground incursion into Gaza, which began on the night of 17 July and represents a serious setback to peace efforts.”