The rules of the game have changed.
The Israeli air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza on Saturday, hugely dramatic in their scope, nonetheless mark only the beginning of an ongoing, potentially lengthy operation aimed at restoring calm to the South, rather than a one-off response to the escalated Kassam rocket fire. The policy of restraint, officials say, is over.
For months, Israel has been refining its intelligence information on the key physical locations that are crucial to the rule of Hamas in the terror state that the Gaza Strip has become since the Islamist group seized power there in June 2007.
And rather than seeking to target the fast-moving offshoots of that terrorist rule – the Kassam crews that set themselves up in residential Gaza neighborhoods, fire into Israeli residential areas and then quickly melt away – Israel has elected to fire into the heart of the terror beast.
The IDF did warn Hamas that they’re going to be surprised if they don’t stop firing the rockets. Olmert and the IDF say they learned some hard lessons from the 2006 Lebanon war. Hamas has completely imitated the Hezbullah defenses. It remains to be seen what happens next. My money is on the IDF, however. They’ve already scored one big surprise. And it’s only the beginning.
The IDF’s deadly strike on the Gaza Strip, which began Saturday morning, is far from over: The IDF said that while the first wave of fire was concluded, the military has to study the strike’s results before deciding on the next stage of the assault, which was launched in response to the nonstop rocket fire from the Strip at the western Negev.
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, added the statement, will be holding a security assessment to that effect during
the day.
Wait and see.
They’re still fighting one step at a time and not keeping on the pressure. OODA loop, Israel? Or even blitzkrieg? Keep on attacking constantly and never let Hamas catch their breath.