Cpl. Gilad Shalit has not been heard from since his kidnapping. David Bogner is of the opinion that Gilad may be dead, and I’m beginning to agree. There have been no pictures, no real assurances, since his kidnapping two weeks ago. Lots of words, but when did words from terrorists mean anything?
But the fight to convince the palestinians to stop launching kassams, and to disrupt and destroy the terrorist cells, continues.
Note how the wire service leads are almost identical:
AP: GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Jul 11, 2006 (AP)— Israeli tanks and troops moved into southern Gaza early Wednesday in a new phase of a two-week offensive aimed at militants holding a captured soldier and firing rockets, Palestinians and the military said.
Reuters: GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli tanks and troops pushed into the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, expanding a two-week-old offensive aimed at recovering a captured soldier and stopping rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.
Well, except the AP has the area wrong. Of course, Reuters can’t resist the easy anti-Israel bias in the lead.
Israel has rejected international criticism of its biggest operation in the Gaza Strip since abandoning the territory last year after 38 years of occupation, vowing to continue the offensive indefinitely.
But this is my favorite part of the Reuters story:
Militants tried to fire makeshift rockets toward the Kissufim border crossing as a column of dozens of armored vehicles and hundreds of soldiers pushed into central Gaza, but the rockets appeared to fall short of the troops.
Gee, guess all those years of fine-tuning the kassams don’t mean squat when firing them at a real army, huh? Funny, but the brave shaheeds seems to have all turned and run away instead of gathering together to take on the IDF. And here I thought they all wanted to die as martyrs. Boys, here’s your chance!
“Our main target is the terrorist infrastructure — the rocket crews, the gunmen, the arms caches,” said Israeli commander Colonel Yoel, who could not give his last name.
“But of course we are here to show that if, God forbid, any of us is captured by the enemy, the army will do everything to secure his return.”
Just for kicks and gigles, let’s look at the lead in Ha’aretz:
The Israel Defense Forces expanded its action in the Gaza Strip shortly after midnight Tuesday, when infantry soldiers and tanks entered central Gaza for the first time since Operation Summer Rains began two weeks ago.
Residents said the soldiers were conducting searches in a village east of the town of Dir al-Balah and had moved about 150 meters into the territory.
It appears that Hamas and the terrorists have at last bit off more than they can chew. The terrorist infrastructure is being removed, bit by bit. Oh, the IDF won’t get all of it. But Hamas will be licking its wounds for a while, as will PIJ, Al-Aqsa, and the rest.
I don’t think we will ever see Gilad Shalit again. And if Olmert and Peretz keep up this way, terrorists won’t ever try to kidnap another Israeli soldier. Or at least, they won’t do it thinking they’re going to swap one for thousands of prisoners.