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Israel News – Report: 3 killed in Gaza liquidation

August 25, 2014

Report: 3 killed in Gaza liquidation

The Palestinian report that IDF attacked a vehicle in Shuja’iyya, killing three

Aug 25, 2014, 04:08PM | Yael Klein

via Israel News – Report: 3 killed in Gaza liquidation – JerusalemOnline.

Hamas is getting desperate, no more arguments , just screaming nazi and holocaust !

 

The targeted liquidation in Gaza, today Channel 2 News
 
 

The Palestinian report that IDF attacked a vehicle in Shuja’iyya, killing three. IDF deny Hamas’ claims of Israeli drone captivation. Meanwhile, a Palestinian source says that all the factions agreed to a month-long ceasefire. Israel confirms the existence of such an offer.

Fire at the South continues along with IDF bombings in Gaza: the Palestinians report that IDF carried out a targeted liquidation around noon, hitting a vehicle in Shuja’iyya. According t the reports, three people were killed in the attack.

In an additional airstrike, IDF say, a number of terrorists were hit near Jabalian in Northern Gaza. IDF additionally attacked a launching pit in a school yard in Gaza out of which rockets were fire at Israel today.

Earlier today Hamas claimed they caught an IDF drone. IDF rushed to deny the report claiming it to be wrong.

Meanwhile, the new Egyptian version of a ceasefire draft awaits the sides’ approval. According to the Egyptian proposal, an immediate fire will take place in the course of one month, upon which the Gaza crossings will be opened immediately.

Israeli officials say that they are familiar with the agreement and that Egypt has applied pressure on Hamas to accept its proposal. A Palestinian source told AFP news agency that all the Palestinian factions in Gaza have accepted the Egyptian proposal.

Hamas’ head of political bureau Khaled Mashal demanded the president of the US to interfere immediately in the ongoing crisis between Israel and Hamas, calling out to him to end the “holocaust against the Palestinians”, as he put it.

In an interview he provided under heavy security to news website Yahoo, Mashal addressed Obama asking him to display his responsibility in favor of stopping Israel. “I ask of you, as the leader of the world’s most powerful country, to speak out and end the Israeli aggression in Gaza”, Mashal said in English. “I ask you to call out to Israel to remove the blockage, open the crossings and rebuild Gaza. Those are our demands”.

Mashal later defined IDF’s action in Gaza as a “holocaust”, and even compared the heads of the Israeli leadership to those of Nazi Germany. “The kill thousands of civilians, children, women, destroy entire neighborhoods, mosques and hospitals”, Mashal claimed aggressively. “What is the difference between what they do and what the Nazis did in the 30’s and 40’s?”

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‘Hamas a less threatening enemy than previously estimated,’ Nahal intelligence officer tells

August 25, 2014

Hamas a less threatening enemy than previously estimated,’ Nahal intelligence officer tells ‘Post’

By YAAKOV LAPPIN 08/25/2014 14:31

Hamas operates from heart of civilian population center, but melts away in face of ground offensive, Maj. S says: “We did not encounter a single enemy commander in combat the moment the ground maneuver began.”

via ‘Hamas a less threatening enemy than previously estimated,’ Nahal intelligence officer tells ‘Post’ | JPost | Israel News.

Read This ! it opens up a lot of questions for me !

 

Nahal brigade in Gaza Photo: IDF SPOKESMAN’S OFFICE
 

When directly confronted on the ground, Hamas became a less threatening enemy than previously estimated, the Nahal infantry brigade’s chief senior intelligence officer, Maj. S (full name withheld for security reasons) told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Nahal units remain deployed outside of Gaza together with other infantry divisions, as Israel currently fights a war of attrition with Hamas and limits itself to air power.

Maj. S recalled how Hamas “ran away from the battlefield” in northern Gaza after Nahal entered the Strip last month, as part of the army’s mission to destroy Hamas’s network of cross-border attack tunnels.

A small number of Hamas units in north Gaza did put up a serious fight, exhibited determination to engage the IDF, and killed a total of six Nahal soldiers during the ground offensive, Maj. S said. But “in comparison to what we expected, this was less. From the moment the ground offensive began in our sector of northern Gaza, the enemy ran away. Its commanders disappeared on the first day of the air campaign.

We did not encounter a single enemy commander in combat the moment the ground maneuver began.” Maj. S noted that this was a “complete antithesis” to the IDF’s tradition of placing commanders in forward positions in advancing units.

A few Hamas cells engaged in firefights with Nahal units, killing, among others, the commander of Nahal’s Gefen Battalion, 38-year-old Lt.-Col. Dolev Keidar, who Maj. S knew personally.

But on the whole, after Nahal entered Gaza and deployed significant firepower, Hamas failed to respond with an organized and prepared counter-strike against advancing IDF units, he said.

Hamas’s commanders remained in hideouts, while its regional battalion guerrillas hid in civilian population centers, from which they continued to direct projectile fire at Israel. “They fired from refugee camps, UNRWA schools, hospitals and mosques. All of these things are documented,” the intelligence officer said.

“The asymmetry between them and us is very large, not only in terms of operational techniques, but also in terms of values. We always try to deploy our forces far from Israeli communities to avoid exposing them to enemy fire. Hamas do the opposite, acting in the heart of their population center to use it as a human shield for their activities.

This creates many challenges,” Maj. S stated.

As the Nahal brigade’s intelligence officer, Maj. S holds daily situation evaluation meetings with field commanders, and acts as a bridge between Military Intelligence and the infantry brigade, ensuring that its officers are aware of the latest intelligence on Hamas.

“We have been in combat mode for almost 80 days. It began in Judea and Samaria, with Operation Brother’s Keeper [to search for the three Israeli teenagers kidnapped and murdered by Hamas near Hebron], and continued with Operation Protective Edge, which brought us to the Gaza sector,” he said. “Soldiers, commanders and reservists have seen very little of their homes during this period,” he added.

Maj. S carries out operational analyses of all aspects of combat. He makes use of a range of technological means to gain a picture of the challenges lying ahead.

“This includes evaluating the situation of the enemy before we enter combat, and while in combat, to understand its location, status, and plans,” Maj. S explained.

“These days, we can really track the enemy, and pass on alerts to units that are maneuvering in the field. We can then attack and destroy the threat with all the means at our disposal. We do all of this while tackling the challenge of directing our firepower at threats and seeking to avoid harming the Gazan civilian population, which is not tied to Hamas’s activity,” the officer said.

“We have dedicated a lot of energy and resources to try and prevent harm to noncombatants. We have been ordered to do this dozens of times, from the chief of staff to the brigade commander. Our orders are to seek out and confront our attackers, while avoiding harm to combatants,” he added.

“In order to achieve this, we have to have a grasp of the territory, on a variety of levels. To understand where the enemy is located, and to be equally aware of where it is not located. Then, we must direct our firepower precisely at the enemy and its infrastructure. We do this on the basis of intelligence gathered on threats, both before the conflict, and more recent intelligence, which is very dynamic. We get information from the bottom, sides, and from above,” Maj. S said, hinting at the sources of input at his disposal.

On the basis of the latest information, “We constantly evaluate the situation, and think about where it is better to focus our offensive efforts, and where we should be careful. Intelligence never rests,” he added.

Today, even the most junior field commanders receive relevant and valuable intelligence, Maj. S said.

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IDF: ‘Dear Gazans, Beware’

August 24, 2014

’Hamas’ actions , or lack of actions, in the next two days may determine if the IDF invades Gaza.

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

Published: August 24th, 2014

via The Jewish Press » » IDF: ‘Dear Gazans, Beware’.

 

Tens of thousands of leaflets advise Gaza residents to steer clear of terrorists.
Photo Credit: IDF

The Israeli Air Force dropped tens of thousands of leaflets on Gaza Saturday, warning them that any house connected with terrorists is a fair target.

The IDF has provided a translation of the leaflets:

“To the residents of Gaza,

“The IDF intends to attack terrorists and terror infrastructure across the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas leadership, while remaining in underground hiding, disregarding the civilians’ needs and wishes for tranquility, will be pursued.

“Israel is currently attacking, and will continue to attack, every area from which terror activities against Israel originate. Every house from which militant activity is carried out, will be targeted.

“For your own safety, prevent terrorists from utilizing your property for terror agendas, and stay away from every site in which terrorist organizations are operating.

“The IDF calls you to distance yourselves from where fire was directed at Israel. The IDF’s campaign has not​ been ​concluded.

“Beware

“Israeli Defense Forces”

A recorded message to Gaza residents stated, “Hamas leadership has decided to drag you to another battle. Prevent terrorists from utilizing your property for terror agendas, and stay away from every site in which terrorist organizations are operating.”

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Hamas Sinks to Child Sacrifice in Thirst for Jewish Blood

August 23, 2014

Hamas terrorists are so callous that their thirst for blood means more than the lives of their own children.

By: Rachel LevyPublished: August 23rd, 2014

via The Jewish Press » » Hamas Sinks to Child Sacrifice in Thirst for Jewish Blood.

 

Terror rockets fired at Israeli civilians from a United Nations (UNRWA) girls school in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, on August 23, 2014.
Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit / satellite imagery
 

A new IDF intelligence report declassified last week has made it clear that Hamas terrorists have sunk to a new low — child sacrifice — in its thirst for Jewish blood.

Human shields, and particularly those who are most vulnerable (read: children) make the best headlines when they are photographed by horrified international reporters after they are bloodied and dead following a firefight or an IDF air strike.

How can that best be staged?

Of the more than 3,600 rockets and missiles fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians since the start of Operation Protective Edge on July 8, 1,600 were fired from civilian areas, according to the report.

Video footage of attacks fired from civilian areas were included.

he Gaza City neighborhood of Shujaiyya, as well as the areas of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun were found to be the most densely populated terrorist strongholds in the enclave.

There were rocket launches from within the El Azhar Islamic College as well, specifically at 2:45 a.m. on July 8, and three rockets launched from the Abu Nur School, also video taped.

Numerous other schools were also found to be terrorist bases — including several belonging to the ‘neutral’ United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

On August 1, 2014, rockets were launched at 7:23 pm from the UNWRA elementary school for girls in Beit Lahiya. Photographic evidence is available in an IDF aerial snapshot.

The next day, rockets were launched next to the UNRWA Shahada Al-Manara elementary school for boys in the Zeitoun district of Gaza City.

Beyond that, Gaza terrorists have also hidden behind the institutional “neutrality” of the United Nations, taking advantage of the international agency to fire rockets from inside an UNRWA distribution center and and UNWRA health center in Jabalya on August 2, 2014.

The terrorists also fired rockets from an UNWRA facility in a residential neighborhood in Gaza City.

Nor was the International Committee of the Red Cross, another “neutral” international aid organization, immune.

Rockets were fired at Israel just five meters away from a Red Cross Ambulance Station in Gaza; the launch was photographed by satellite.

Patients in hospitals, also made convenient shields for terrorists, who set up rocket launchers next to the Wafa Hospital in Shujaiyya and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

In addition, clinics and mosques were found to be favored spots for terrorist activity as well. One mosque was used as a weapons storage facility in Nuseirat. In Gaza City, another house of worship concealed the entrance to an attack tunnel. Rocket launchers were also placed around mosques.

Even the dead were not respected, or safe: terrorists have launched rockets from within cemeteries in the enclave.

Curiously, terrorists also fired rockets from within a hotel where journalists were staying: on August 1, 2014, rockets were fired at Israel from the Al-Mashtal Hotel in Al Shati. Due to intimidation and threats, no journalist reported it: but satellite imagery caught the launch. Likewise, Hamas terrorists have prepared and launched rockets next to a hotel used by international media — but none have reported it. Their lives are at stake if they do.

Only after leaving the enclave have some had the courage to “tell.”

Perhaps the most self-destructive of all: on July 30, 2014, Gaza terrorists fired rockets at Israeli civilians from within the Gaza power plant itself, at 8:39 am, either believing the launch would not be seen or documented (it was, by satellite photography).

The tactics of Hamas and other Gaza terrorists are a flagrant violation of international law. Essentially, the terrorists have dropped to the level of child sacrifice not seen since the days of the pagan worship of the false god Ba’al Peor.

The responsibility for “collateral damage” that occurs during IDF attacks on terrorists as Israeli soldiers return fire in defense of civilians living in the Jewish State lies solely with Hamas, which controls Gaza.

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Smuggling between Sinai and Gaza still thriving

August 22, 2014

Smuggling between Sinai and Gaza still thriving

Bedouin guide claims there are 500 tunnels that can shuttle weapons, goods, building materials and people into Strip

By Spencer Ho August 22, 2014, 9:26 am

via Smuggling between Sinai and Gaza still thriving | The Times of Israel.

 

A Palestinian worker inside a smuggling tunnel, beneath the Egyptian-Gaza border
in the southern Gaza Strip, in February 2013 (photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
 

ith Israel’s attention focused on Hamas’s cross-border attack tunnels into Israel, the smuggling of arms and goods from the Sinai Peninsula has continued and gained a boost from the flare-up of hostilities in the Gaza strip, according to Egyptian and Bedouin sources.

“During the Gaza war, business has flourished,” a Bedouin guide, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.

The fighting and humanitarian crisis has increased the demand for weapons and humanitarian supplies that only skilled smugglers can provide. However, while their business is still thriving, it is not what it used to be just two years ago, the report said.

The crackdown on smuggling came amid accusations by Egypt that Hamas had colluded with the Muslim Brotherhood in carrying out “terror attacks” on its territory in the past few years.

In March of this year, Egypt’s military said that it had destroyed 1,370 smuggling tunnels under its border with the Gaza Strip. Coupled with the frequent closure of the Rafah border and Israel’s effective security blockade, the destruction of so many of the tunnels has left the Hamas-run coastal enclave almost completely isolated.

“The situation is much more controlled,” a senior Egyptian official told Reuters, noting that since mid-2012 the army had managed to seriously curtail the smuggling of weapons, fuel, food and drugs. “It’s not 100 percent, but we are trying to reach this percentage.”

For their part, the Bedouin smugglers acknowledge that the Egyptian crackdown has forced them to think smaller. The massive tunnels that used to accommodate cars and trucks have been destroyed, but many of the one- to two-meter-wide corridors have survived. One Bedouin guide told Reuters that smugglers had built up to 200 more such tunnels in the last two years, bringing the total of working tunnels up to 500. Comparatively, before the crackdown, there were some 1,500.

“Each day, about three or four people cross with weapons, and each one carries about six or seven guns,” the guide said, without specifying what type of arms were being transported.

A peek into a derelict house in Egypt where a tunnel opening is located — concealed only by a shower curtain — offers a glimpse into how the system works.

“This tunnel is a partnership between us,” the Egyptian tunnel owner said, referring to his Palestinian counterpart on the Gaza side. “Building it cost us $300,000. He paid half and I paid half. The profit is split between us 50-50.”

On average, the two men net about $200 per day by charging varying rates for different supplies, according to the owner. For instance, a one-square-meter crate of medicine or food would cost $12, while weapons, building supplies, or fuel might cost as much as $150.

When Egypt cracked down on smuggling between its territory and Gaza in 2012, it charged that militant forces were using the tunnels to shuttle weapons and fighters to the groups that were frequently attacking its military forces and causing unrest amongst the population in Sinai. While its campaign may have struck a blow to the enterprise, this tunnel operation proves that the threat still exists.

Much like goods, people can also pass, with the price starting at $50 per person; extra if they are carrying weapons.

“If someone is passing with one or two guns, we charge $60 to $70. But if someone has more weapons, it’s a special operation and might cost as much as $1,000 or $2,000 depending on the type of weapon,” the Egyptian was quoted by Reuters as saying, adding that he has no interest in who they are or their intentions, as long as his Palestinian partner says they are alright.

“As long as they give me $50, I let them through, he said. “I just deliver the weapons and take the money. I’m not concerned with where they’re going.”

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Hamas buries commanders killed by Israel

August 21, 2014

Hamas buries commanders killed by Israel

Funerals held for three al-Qassam Brigades leaders in Rafah, as Israel calls up fresh troops for extended Gaza campaign.

Last updated: 21 Aug 2014 18:54

via Hamas buries commanders killed by Israel – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.

 

Hamas said the deaths of the three commanders was a “big Israeli crime” [AFP]
 
So much innocent civilians !
 

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets as funerals were held for three Hamas commanders killed in the latest round of Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip that left a total of 29 Palestinians dead.

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, said Mohamed Abo Shamaleh, Raed al-Attar and Mohamed Barhoum were killed in an attack in Rafah on Thursday, little more than a day after an attempt on the life of its leader Mohammed Deif.

Their supporters later took over the streets as their funerals processions snaked through Rafah, which bears scars of Israeli bombing from previous days.

Another 26 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza since Wednesday evening, raising the overall death toll to 2,077 in 45 days of conflict.

Israel meanwhile said it was rotating 10,000 troops – meaning fresh soldiers were being prepared for possible future operations – a day after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel’s offensive may be an extended operation.

Hamas condemned the assasinations, with Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman, calling them a “big Israeli crime” for which it would pay.

Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from West Jerusalem, said Israel had turned to its historical tactic of targeting senior figures.

“This could be seen as an acknowledgement that military tactics have not been delivering on several levels,” she said, including damage to its international reputation.

Al Jazeera’s Jane Ferguson, reporting from Gaza, said the Hamas commanders killed on Thursday had been implicated in the kidnapping of its soldier Gilad Shalit, who was freed in 2011 under a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

Ferguson said that Hamas and other Palestinian factions were still open to talks, an “indicator of how both sides … are aware that while they say they’re prepared to fight, they also know that they need a political solution at some stage”.

Hamas is seeking an end to a seven-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has battered Gaza’s economy, while Israel wants guarantees that Hamas will disarm.

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Mashal to Mahmoud Abbas in Qatar: “We Are Ready For a War of Attrition of Years”

August 21, 2014

Mashal to Mahmoud Abbas in Qatar: “We Are Ready For a War of Attrition of Years

The head of the political bureau of Hamas and Palestinian Authority Chairman met in Emirate, the goal of the latter to bring a quick cease-fire between the two sides, after it emerged that the truce was broken when rockets were fired at Be’er Sheva on Tuesday by members of Hamas.

Aug 21, 2014, 06:00PM | Jerusalemonline Staff

via Israel News – Mashal to Mahmoud Abbas in Qatar: “We Are Ready For a War of Attrition of Years” – JerusalemOnline.

 

5 minutes ago a mega rocket attack on Israel

 

Now another mega attack direction Dimona, and continuing, BIBI has to stop this NOW !

 

Abbas and Mashal Channel 2 News/Reuters
 

Due to the continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, the IDF targeted three senior Hamas military wing officials and the absence of a cease-fire agreement on the horizon, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Khaled Mashal are meeting today in Qatar. The goal: Mahmoud Abbas is attempting to stop the fire between the two sides.

This afternoon their first meeting between the two ended when the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Ben Hamad Aal Thani, met with Abbas and then after were joined by Mashal and his entourage. Abbas tried to get Mashal to understand that he must first arrive at an agreement in Cairo. Mashal on the other hand, told Abbas that Hamas is prepared for a long war of attrition, which could last years.

However, Abbas is expected to discuss with Mashal’s future government of national reconciliation. Among the issues to be discussed: whether elections will be held, and if so – when, and how the PLO will be integrated and what will be the political leadership role of Hamas in the West Bank. Now, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority must recruit Qatar in orer to convince Mashaal that Hamas must arrive at a cease-fire agreement.

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U.S. Has Not Expressed Concerns Over Hamas Leader in Turkey

August 21, 2014

U.S. Has Not Expressed Concerns Over Hamas Leader in Turkey

Turkish official says no ‘concerns’ expressed to Turkey following Hamas coup plot

BY:

August 20, 2014 5:00 am

via U.S. Has Not Expressed Concerns Over Hamas Leader in Turkey | Washington Free Beacon.

 

AP
 

he Obama administration has not expressed to Turkey any concerns over recent reports indicating that a senior Hamas operative operating in Turkey had been implicated in a coup plot to overthrow the Palestinian government in the West Bank and wage war on Israel, according to a Turkish official.

The State Department on Monday defended new missile sales to Turkey just hours after news emerged that Ankara is hosting a senior Hamas operative who Israel accused of hatching a plan to violently overthrow the Palestinian Fatah government in the West Bank.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf did not respond yesterday to Free Beacon requests for comment on whether the Obama administration had related any concerns to Ankara over its reported sheltering of Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri, who is said to have been responsible for planning the kidnapping of three Israeli teens who were killed by Hamas.

A Turkish official confirmed to the Free Beacon late Tuesday that the Obama administration has not reached out to express concerns over the reports about the alleged coup and rejected allegations that Turkey may be aiding Al-Arouri.

“Turkey strongly condemns and rejects such allegations. As a matter of fact Turkey’s strong support to the National Unity Government in Palestine and to the President [Mahmoud] Abbas himself is self-explanatory and refutes such accusations,” the official said.

The Turkish official further noted that “U.S. authorities are well aware” of Turkey’s support for Abbas and his government.

“Since U.S. authorities are well aware of Turkey’s aforementioned position, there has been no such concern [expressed by the Obama administration] as you mention in your email which has been conveyed to the Turkish side,” the official said.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also addressed the controversy in a statement issued Tuesday in Turkish.

“Turkey is at the top of the list of countries that have supported the Palestinian reconciliation” between Hamas and Fatah, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in the statement, which was translated for the Free Beacon by Merve Tahiroglu, a research associate for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). “In this regard, our country has welcomed and supported the Palestinian unity government that was formed on June 2.”

Turkey views this unity government as “an indispensible element” for peace in the region and “the welfare of the Palestinian people,” the statement adds.

Turkey maintains that is has not “overlooked any attempts to overthrow the Palestinian national unity government,” according to the statement. “We strongly reject and condemn such slander. Turkey’s close contact and strong cooperation with the Palestinian administration will, just as it has been in the past, continue with determination in the future.”

A heated back-and-forth between reporters and Harf broke out at the State Department’s daily briefing on Monday and Tuesday when questions emerged about why the administration is going through with the transfer of U.S. missiles to Turkey while simultaneously holding up similar weapons shipments to Israel.

Harf again on Tuesday ducked questions by reporters asking if the U.S. government had conveyed concerns to Turkey over the plot.

“Do you have any concerns at all about the apparent role of Turkey in this?” AP reporter Matt Lee asked Harf.

“I don’t have any more details on this, Matt. I’m happy to check with our team,” Harf responded.

“Okay. Because I did ask this yesterday. You weren’t aware of the incident, but … now, the Israelis say that this is all being planned and funded from Turkish territory,” Lee followd up.

“Well, as I said, I think it involves some Hamas militants and cash, but let me check on that piece of it. I certainly have nothing to confirm that,” Harf told Lee.

“I’m most curious to know if you guys are planning to raise any concerns with the—I don’t know, maybe you don’t have any concerns … if you’ll raise them with the Turks,” Lee responded.

Harf responded that she would “check on that.”

Harf maintained on Monday that the Turkish and Israeli arms shipments are completely separate matters.

“Turkey is also a NATO ally,” she told reporters. “So for all of us who are—talk a lot about the importance of the NATO alliance, particularly when it comes to Russia and Ukraine and what’s happening there, we think it’s important to provide our NATO allies with resources. We think that’s an important use of our resources. The two [cases] aren’t comparable, but those are the facts behind them, I would say.”

Additionally, Harf could not explain to reporters the exact process taking place behind the scenes regarding the hold up in Israeli arms shipments.

“I don’t know how the process specifically works in that granularity,” she said, when faced with questions about who in the government holds veto power over the arms shipments.

When asked later in the briefing to comment on reports about the Turkey-backed Hamas coup, Harf could not provide much information.

“I don’t have anything to confirm those [reports],” she said. “I hadn’t heard about that otherwise. I can check,” she told reporters.

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Hamas fighters show defiance in Gaza tunnel tour

August 19, 2014

Hamas fighters show defiance in Gaza tunnel tour

Terrorists say they feel at home in tunnels, vow to restock arsenal: ‘In peace we make preparations, and in war we use what we have readied,’ says one of them.

ReutersPublished: 08.19.14, 19:13 / Israel News

via Hamas fighters show defiance in Gaza tunnel tour – Israel News, Ynetnews.

GAZA – Hamas fighters, clad in black and armed with assault rifles, navigated the dimly lit tunnel with ease, saying they felt at home in their network of underground passages in the Gaza Strip.

A rare tour that Hamas granted to a Reuters reporter, photographer and cameraman appeared to be an attempt to dispute Israel’s claim that it had demolished all of the Islamist group’s border infiltration tunnels in the Gaza war.

“We are speaking to you today from inside one of those tunnels, which Israel said it had destroyed. Our men are still operating in those tunnels prepared for all options,” said a masked fighter from Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

But driven, blindfolded, to the secret location in a Hamas vehicle that made a series of turns, it was impossible for the Reuters crew to tell whether it was close to the frontier or further inside the Gaza Strip in tunnels untouched by Israeli bombing. It was not clear where the tunnel led.

 

Photo: Reuters
 

By Israel’s own account, its ground forces focused only on destroying tunnels within 2 to 4.5 km of the border, while ignoring more distant connecting passages. During the Gaza offensive, Israel’s military took reporters through tunnels it discovered at the frontier.

Chatting in soft voices and laughing at times, Hamas men guided the Reuters crew through corridors less than a metre (3.3 feet) wide that are reached by descending a thin metal ladder through a tiny shaft.

“It feels just like home,” their commander said. “Fighters dug these tunnels with their own hands just like they built their houses, so they live here at comfort and assurance like they do at home.”

Sound of silence
The ceiling in parts of the tunnel was high enough so we could walk through – alternately on dry, concrete floors and muddy ground – without having to bend our heads.

It was impossible to gauge the tunnel’s length, but it had offshoots leading in different directions. Once inside, the sounds of traffic and Israeli drones that routinely fly over the territory of 1.8 million people could not be heard.

Israel said the tunnel network is used by Hamas to move and store weapons and keep fighters out of sight of Israeli aircraft.

It is separate from smuggling conduits that ran under the Egypt-Gaza border. Egypt, which regards Hamas as a security threat, destroyed those tunnels before the current war.

 

Photo: Reuters
 

Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 after a surge in Hamas rocket fire across the border. Israeli ground forces invaded on July 17 with the declared aim of destroying infiltration tunnels and left on August 5 after saying that mission had been accomplished.

Egypt is trying to finalize a long-term ceasefire after a five-day truce was extended by 24 hours into Tuesday, a truce that was broken several hours before it was set to expire when Palestinian factions in Gaza resumed rocket fire on Israel.

On the battlefield, Hamas met Israeli forces with an array of tactics, including the use of tunnels to launch surprise attacks. The IDF lost 64 soldiers, more than six times the number of troops killed in its previous invasion of Gaza in early 2009. Three civilians in Israel were also killed.

Israel says it has killed hundreds of Hamas fighters and destroyed more than 30 tunnels. Funeral marches were held for several members of the Qassam Brigades but there has been no official word from the group on its losses.

The Palestinian Health Ministry puts the Gaza death toll at 2,016 and says most were civilians in the small, densely populated coastal territory.

 

Photo: Reuters
 

In the tunnel, a Hamas fighter said the group would press on with restocking its arsenal or rockets and other weaponry and shoring up its underground network.

“In peace we make preparations, and in war we use what we have readied,” he said.

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Stop Mowing the Lawn; Start Salting the Earth

August 19, 2014

Why Israel should not consider a ceasefire and should instead continue its incursion in Gaza.

By: Alex VanNess

Published: August 19th, 2014

via The Jewish Press » » Stop Mowing the Lawn; Start Salting the Earth.

 

Photo Credit: Miriam Alster/FLASH90
 

[Editor: This article is being published less than an hour after Hamas once again broke the ceasefire during negotiations with Israel]

A rickety ceasefire has been reached in Gaza and Egyptian officials are despairingly attempting to broker a long-term comprehensive truce between Israel and Hamas. Discussion regarding a truce centered on various security arrangements in exchange for trade access to the Gaza Strip. Israel hoped to ensure that Hamas would be unable to rebuild its rocket arsenal and military capabilities, while Hamas wants the Israeli blockade of goods and people into Gaza lifted.

However, we have seen this same song and dance several times before. Every few years since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2005, Israel is goaded into an incursion against Hamas, only to back off after a few weeks when international pressure mounts.

In 2006, Israel launched Operation Summer Rains in response to numerous rocket attacks and the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants. In both 2008 and 2012, Israel launched operations into Gaza to stop increases rocket attacks by Hamas and to eliminate smuggling routes used by Palestinian militants. Today, Operation Protective Edge was launched to quell Hamas’s rocket attacks and destroy its tunnel networks.

Once truces have been reached and Israel withdraws, Hamas uses the calm to rebuild its terrorist infrastructure and launches further attacks into Israel, forcing Israel to respond with more large-scale incursions. This routine has become so regular, Israeli officials have even come to refer to this practice as “mowing the grass.”

Many Israeli’s believe that they will never completely eliminate their enemies; so, the practice of mowing the grass is seen as a necessary act at degrading Hamas’ abilities to launch attacks and keep them off-balance. However, if we are judging by history, every time Hamas rebuilds their infrastructure, they are stronger than they were previously.

The blockade on Gaza was imposed after the openly anti-Semitic terrorist organization Hamas, – founded solely for the purpose of destroying Israel and killing Jews – was democratically elected to take over governance of the region in 2006. Hamas utilized tunnels to smuggle weapons, equipment, and information into the region, in order to attack Israelis. Interest in eliminating the smuggling tunnels led to the various incursions. However, each incursion became more difficult than the last. Tunnel systems have been growing more complex, weapons have become more advanced, and the Hamas militants are becoming more battle hardened.

When the 2012 cease-fire was brokered by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, one of the concessions in the cease-fire agreement involved the easing of a blockade on building materials and other dual-use goods that Israel had place on Gaza.

Clinton’s interest in a speedy cessation of the violence, as well as a quick ‘win’ for the administration led her to foolishly take Hamas leaders at their word as they pledged to use the building materials for schools and homes. Instead, Hamas lied and the materials were used to build a complex labyrinth of tunnels; including one just outside of the Kibbutz Nir Am were a terrorist plot on the Kibbutz was thwarted.

The administrations interest in a hasty end to the violence led to a situation that disregarded Israel’s security needs. This recent incursion has surprised Israel. The size, quantity, and complex nature of the tunnels; as well as the discovery of large stockpiles of rockets, explosive devices, and the equipment needed to kidnapping scores of Israeli’s was far beyond all of their intelligence estimates.

Hamas is not interested in helping the Palestinians better their lives. Hamas is a terrorist entity with absolutely no interest in anything other than fulfilling their goal of destroying Israel – a goal they will gladly pursue on the backs of dead Palestinians. With a new cease-fire agreement, especially one calling for lifted blockades; we will only see more terror tunnels and future incursions into Gaza.

The stated goal of Israel’s incursion is the elimination of Hamas’ terror infrastructure, allowing Israeli residents in the area to live in safety without constant indiscriminate terror. If Israel does not stop Hamas now, the next time Israel launches an incursion into Gaza it will most likely be as a response to a terror plot, like the one planned on Kibbutz Nir Am, which was successful.

Additionally, now is the best time to quash Hamas, as they are unlikely to get any help from their allies. The Egyptian government is no longer a friend to Hamas after the Egyptian military overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood government. ISIS has destabilized the Middle East and has left Hamas’ allies unable to come to their aid.

Operation Protective Edge has allowed Israel to eliminate a large portion of Hamas’s tunnels and seize scores of weaponry. Along with a lack of assistance from their allies, Hamas is now at its most vulnerable. It is imperative that Israel continues their incursion and rejects any long-term truce that does not involve the complete elimination of Hamas and its infrastructure.

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