Yesterday, Hamas declared their pretend unilateral cease-fire, after lobbing 45 missiles—including a Grad rocket shot down by the Iron Dome defense system before it could hit Ashdod—into southern Israel. The reason for the cease-fire? Well, this time, Netanyahu unleashed the IAF and sent them to hit Hamas strongholds in Gaza.
Barry Rubin says Hamas is heading towards war with Israel. One point he did not cover is that the Hamas leadership no doubt thinks that if it does come to war with Israel, it can get the same kind of Western help against Israel as the Libyan rebels are getting against Ghadaffi. This is wishful thinking, but can you blame them for thinking that the anti-Israel tide is swinging in their favor? Just read this BBC piece and you will learn that it is Israel doing all the damage to civilians. Or read the articles I posted yesterday. Or the AP update. Note that the AP neglects to mention the 45 missiles that rained down on southern Israel, including a Grad rocket heading towards Ashkelon, in the lede.
An anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck a school bus in southern Israel Thursday, wounding two people, one of them critically, and prompting fierce Israeli retaliation that killed five Palestinians.
Israel unleashed airstrikes and tank fire against Hamas targets across the border in the heaviest assault on the coastal territory since a broad military offensive two years ago. Besides the dead, more than 30 Palestinians were wounded, said Palestinian health official Adham Abu Salmiya.
Where can you find the information on the Hamas missile barrage? In paragraph 23 of a 27-paragraph story. And yet, you get the information on Israeli assaults, and the damage they caused, in the lede. And of course, you have Hamas spokesmen named and labeled, whereas Israeli spokespeople? They’re faceless, nameless “The military.”
The military said that after the missile attack, about 45 rockets and mortar shells were fired from Gaza toward Israel, including one that struck a home, causing damage but no injuries.
Hamas wants the war. Israel does not. But that’s not what the media are telling us.