Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi says the palestinians are “in shock” over the Gaza operation. Which begs the question: How is it that Israel couldn’t figure this out beforehand?
The ground operation is accompanied by massive aerial activity, which has so far claimed a heavy price on the Palestinian side. The Palestinian Authority reported that one Palestinian was killed every hour since IDF soldiers entered the Gaza Strip territory.
According to the IDF’s data, more than 30 terrorists were killed since the northern Strip operation was launched.
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz arrived at the Gaza Division on Friday morning and was briefed by soldiers and commanders. The Israeli side spoke about stubborn fighting and a lot of explosive devices and weapons in the Strip, the result of 10 months of Israeli absence.
[…] “We are determined to create a professional chaos, to jump from one place, to emerge, to use this method or another, to leave the territory and enter it again after a while,” Brigadier General Kochavi told Ynet.
“We will take advantage of all the advantages of this method, which is a ‘raid’ rather than an ‘occupation.’ Meaning, don’t to base ourselves or wallow in the Strip. All this is aimed at creating the understanding among terror organizations that firing Qassams is not worthwhile,” he explained.
[…] “There is a chance that the pressure caused by the operation will lead the terror organizations to an understanding that Israel does not plan to give up easily on this matter. Already now we have identified a great surprise among the Palestinians in terms of our response – they are in shock. They did not expect a series of such long operations over time.”
Beit Lahiya, one of the towns in northern Gaza, has emptied of civilians.
According to the Palestinians, the town of Beit Lahiya is almost desolated, apart from gunmen in its allies who are exchanging fire with IDF soldiers. The town is suffering from severe electricity blackouts, and there has been no electricity supply to most of its parts since the IDF began its northern Gaza Strip operation.
Good. The IDF doesn’t have to worry about harming civilians while taking out the trash.
Ehud Olmert says there will be no ceasefire without the release of Cpl. Shalit.
Forty terrorists have been killed so far in Operation Summer Rains. One Israeli soldier has been killed, possibly in a “friendly fire” incident. These are the kind of numbers that drive the Israel-haters crazy, but they are also the kind of numbers that get a point across to the terrorists.
And of course, the kassam rockets continue to fall on Sderot. Three people were hit by shrapnel from a rocket that fell in the city’s central market, which was filled, of course, because it’s the even of Shabbat.
Word of a deal that will supposedly stop kassam attacks is being tossed around. I’m not buying it. Terrorists are not trustworthy negotiating partners. Has Israel learned nothing in the last forty years?
Casualty ratios like that should help dissolve the resolve of the terrorists a bit, as they don’t care for the misery they are causing around them.
I note in the kassam story you link to they don’t hyphenate the rockets as being “crude” or “homemade” like the NY Times has been doing lately. Good to see.
Jerry, that’s because it’s an Israeli newspaper.
Every other paper adds that “homemade” caveat in order to downplay the kassam effects on Israelis.
Anne Lieberman has a great post on the victims of the kassam rockets on Ashkelon. Yes, people have died. Not that you’d know it from the MSM reports.
The way for Israel to win (and I do not want to sound blood thirsty but I must tell the truth) is to wrack up huge numbers of dead Palestinian terrorists. These pin prick strikes although morally admirable will not do the trick. Israel needs to grind them down in a war of attrition in which its superior firepower, operational ingenuity, and mobility will prevail.
Does Haaretz still refer to them as “militants”?
One terrorist killed an hour? That’s kid glove treatment. Israel seems to be more careful than international law requires at trying to avoid civilian casualties in areas where the Pali fighters are intermixed with civvies (a habit of the Palis, and something they are not supposed to do under the Geneva Conventions). If that town is empty of civvies Israel should just level the place. But I suppose they cannot be certain that report is accurate (consider the source) and don’t want to risk killing civvies if they can help it.