See new post for latest updates. I have logged on to my computer after the Jewish Sabbath and discovered that … Israel Strikes Back Read More »
Israel Strikes Back - Israellycool Skip to content Submit Post About Menu Toggle Contact Legal Advertise What Others Say About Aussie Dave And Israellycool Notable Mentions Special Topics Menu Toggle Antisemites History Libels Fauxtography Donate Sponsor a Post Email Search for: Search Search Submit Post About Menu Toggle Contact Legal Advertise What Others Say About Aussie Dave And Israellycool Notable Mentions Special Topics Menu Toggle Antisemites History Libels Fauxtography Donate Sponsor a Post Main Menu Search for: Submit Post About Menu Toggle Contact Legal Advertise What Others Say About Aussie Dave And Israellycool Notable Mentions Special Topics Menu Toggle Antisemites History Libels Fauxtography Donate Sponsor a Post Israel Strikes Back 67 Comments / By David Lange / December 27, 2008 / Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Palestinian See new post for latest updates. I have logged on to my computer after the Jewish Sabbath and discovered that the Israeli government has finally done something it should have done a very long time ago. We have hit Hamas hard. According to Ha’aretz: Israel launched Saturday morning the start of a massive offensive against Qassam rocket and mortar fire on its southern communities, targeting dozens of buildings belonging to the ruling Hamas militant group. Palestinian medical sources said that at least 195 people had been killed in the strikes, which began with almost no warning at around 11:30 A.M. Medical personnel in Gaza said that more than 200 people were also wounded in the series of Israel Air Force strikes. Egypt has opened its long-sealed border with Gaza to allow in the wounded for medical treatment. Hamas said that the attacks had caused widespread panic in the Strip. The first wave of air strikes was launched by a 60 warplanes which hit a total of 50 targets in one fell swoop. The IAF deployed approximately 100 bombs, with an estimated 95 percent of the ordinance reaching its intended target. Most of the casualties were Hamas operatives. —- Immediately following the first wave, some 20 IAF aircraft struck 50 Palestinian rocket launchers in an effort to minimize Hamas’ retaliatory strikes. The IDF emphasized that civilians located in areas whence Palestinians launch rockets and who quarter Hamas operatives in their homes are liable to be hurt. The targets that were hit included training camps and installations as well as police stations, some of whom were located in civilian buildings. Ok, not quite sending the message “Don’t you dare fire rockets at us” but rather “Don’t you dare fire rockets at us for too long.” Despite the fact that Israel targeted Hamas facilities and most of the casualties were Hamas terrorists, world leaders predictably condemned Israel’s actions, with our “friend,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy, calling Israel’s response “disproportionate.” Then again, I guess anything short of waving a white flag is considered disproportionate to a French leader. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has indicated that this operation could continue for quite a while. Hamas for their part say they are not backing down. And to highlight a main difference between them and us, they again targeted civilians, hitting a synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath, as well as an apartment building, killing one man and wounding at least 5 other people. Meanwhile, Israeli Arabs leaders showed allegiance to their country. Which is apparently not Israel. I’ll try to provide updates as much as I can. Updates (Israel time) Saturday Dec 27th 7:43PM: Ha’aretz reports that an Israeli policeman has been lightly hurt after being run over by an East Jerusalem man in a suspected terror attack. 7:53PM: Time posits that the reason for Israel’s offensive is to “force an end to the rocket attacks from Gaza” and “to ratchet up the pressure still further in the hope that it will force a workable ceasefire.” Meanwhile, Israellycool friend Noah Pollack over at Commentary suggests that “Israel’s job is not necessarily to topple Hamas rule… but to humiliate the swaggering resistance, to kill as many of its leaders and militants as possible, and to demonstrate to Hamas’ allies that the IDF and Israeli government learned the right lessons from the 2006 war.” I’m more inclined to agree with Noah, although given that it has taken Israel so long to respond, and the fact we agreed to a “ceasefire” knowing full well that Hamas would rearm and replenish its supplies, it looks like we did not learn much from the 2006 Lebanon War. Although the fact we have launched air operations and not a ground offensive could possibly be tied to lessons learned from 2006. 7:58PM: Is it just me, or are some of the statements coming from world leaders more muted than usual? Take this statement from the Vatican, which while criticizing Israel’s offensive, acknowledges its efficacy: The Rev. Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio on Saturday that Israel’s offensive will be a “very serious blow” to Hamas but could also cause many innocent victims and damage peace prospects in the Holy Land. 8:03PM: Protest nirvana: I’ll have what he’s having: 8:05PM: Brian of London informs us about some liveblogging on Twitter: Search for #gaza on Twitter Brian of London on Twitter 8:10PM: So far today, over 200 rockets and missiles have been fired at Israel from Gaza. 8:18PM: The palestinians have reportedly come out in force to protest Israel’s assault against the terrorist organization that has been firing rockets at innocent people. Question: where have the palestinians been in recent months and years, when aforementioned terrorist organizations have been firing rockets at innocent people? I do not recall seeing even one palestinian protest terror attacks against Israel. 8:20PM: Today’s Qassam victim was 58-year-old Beber Vaaknin. May G-d avenge his blood. 8:32PM: I’m guessing there will be plenty more of these after today. 8:33PM: 4 more Qassams landed in Israel a short time ago, with no injuries or damage reported. 8:48PM: Wow, I just saw that a rocket hit Kiryat Gat. That is not that far from here, and I drive past there every time we visit the in-laws. 8:50PM: In the immortal words of Ren: You eeediots! 9:08PM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: “Israel has done all it could to preserve the ceasefire with Hamas, but our desire for quiet was met with terror..[Israel] “is not itching for a fight, but will not back down from one either.” 9:17PM: Some really graphic photos over at the Daily Mail, that does nothing to refute the claim that terrorists were the main casualties today. 10:25PM: Israel’s “peace partner” Mahmoud Abbas has condemned Israel, saying “there are no reasons for the Israeli raids.” This, despite the incessant rocket attacks against Israel. And that, my friends, is all you need to know about the man the international community has placed so much trust in. 10:35PM: Israel is reportedly set to mount an emergency PR effort in light of the operations against Hamas. I wonder if the government realizes the effort has already begun, without help from any government official. 11:25PM: The IDF has released aerial photos of the Hamas facilities targeted today. 11:30PM: The IDF is reportedly moving tanks to the Gaza region, perhaps signaling an imminent ground invasion. 11:45PM: Wow, if this is true, our defense establishment deserves a lot of credit. Long-term preparation, careful gathering of information, secret discussions, operational deception and the misleading of the public – all these stood behind the Israel Defense Forces “Cast Lead” operation against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, which began Saturday morning. The disinformation effort, according to defense officials, took Hamas by surprise and served to significantly increase the number of its casualties in the strike. Sources in the defense establishment said Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six months ago, even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. According to the sources, Barak maintained that although the lull would allow Hamas to prepare for a showdown with Israel, the Israeli army needed time to prepare, as well. Barak gave orders to carry out a comprehensive intelligence-gathering drive which sought to map out Hamas’ security infrastructure, along with that of other militant organizations operating in the Strip. This intelligence-gathering effort brought back information about permanent bases, weapon silos, training camps, the homes of senior officials and coordinates for other facilities. The plan of action that was implemented in Operation Cast Lead remained only a blueprint until a month ago, when tensions soared after the IDF carried out an incursion into Gaza during the ceasefire to take out a tunnel which the army said was intended to facilitate an attack by Palestinian militants on IDF troops. On November 19, following dozens of Qassam rockets and mortar rounds which exploded on Israeli soil, the plan was brought for Barak’s final approval. Last Thursday, on December 18, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the defense minister met at IDF headquarters in central Tel Aviv to approve the operation. However, they decided to put the mission on hold to see whether Hamas would hold its fire after the expiration of the ceasefire. They therefore put off bringing the plan for the cabinet’s approval, but they did inform Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the developments. That night, in speaking to the media, sources in the Prime Minister’s Bureau said that “if the shooting from Gaza continues, the showdown with Hamas would be inevitable.” On the weekend, several ministers in Olmert’s cabinet inveighed against him and against Barak for not retaliating for Hamas’ Qassam launches. “This chatter would have made Entebe or the Six Day War impossible,” Barak said in responding to the accusations. The cabinet was eventually convened on Wednesday, but the Prime Minister’s Bureau misinformed the media in stating the discussion would revolve around global jihad. The ministers learned only that morning that the discussion would actually pertain to the operation in Gaza. In its summary announcement for the discussion, the Prime Minister’s Bureau devoted one line to the situation in Gaza, compared to one whole page that concerned the outlawing of 35 Islamic organizations. What actually went on at the cabinet meeting was a five-hour discussion about the operation in which ministers were briefed about the various blueprints and plans of action. “It was a very detailed review,” one minister said. The minister added: “Everyone fully understood what sort of period we were heading into and what sort of scenarios this could lead to. No one could say that he or she did not know what they were voting on.” The minister also said that the discussion showed that the lessons of the Winograd Committee about the performance of decision-makers during the 2006 Second Lebanon War were “fully internalized.” At the end of the discussion, the ministers unanimously voted in favor of the strike, leaving it for the prime minister, the defense minister and the foreign minister to work out the exact time. While Barak was working out the final details with the officers responsible for the operation, Livni went to Cairo to inform Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, that Israel had decided to strike at Hamas. In parallel, Israel continued to send out disinformation in announcing it would open the crossings to the Gaza Strip and that Olmert would decide whether to launch the strike following three more deliberations on Sunday – one day after the actual order to launch the operation was issued. “Hamas evacuated all its headquarter personnel after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday,” one defense official said, “but the organization sent its people back in when they heard that everything was put on hold until Sunday.” The final decision was made on Friday morning, when Barak met with Chief of Staff General Gabi Ashkenazi, the head of the Shin Bet Security Service Yuval Diskin and the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Amos Yadlin. Barak sat down with Olmert and Livni several hours later for a final meeting, in which the trio gave the air force its orders. On Friday night and on Saturday morning, opposition leaders and prominent political figures were informed about the impending strike, including Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, Yisrael Beuiteinu’s Avigdor Liebermen, Haim Oron from Meretz and President Shimon Peres, along with Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik. Brilliant. 11:45PM: I sincerely hope someone from the Israeli government is reading the comments to this post. A lot of people support us, and these are the voices that count. 11:47PM: 3 more Qassams have been fired at the Negev. 11:57PM: From Gerbils to Goebbels: Richard Gere’s friend Hanan Ashrawi still has a sense of humor: Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi, speaking from Ramallah in the West Bank, accused Israel of ignoring the terms of the tenuous six-month cease-fire that expired December 19. She clearly has contempt for people’s intelligence. Sunday Dec 28th 12:02AM: I noticed the following from my referrer stats: http://www.israellycool.com/2008/12/…-strikes-back/ Jew live blogging, definite partisian slant. That was from the Ron Paul forums, naturally, which includes gems such as this: So, let me get this straight. Someone from a military base 30 miles away, fires essentially bottle rockets, at a town 35 miles away. In retaliation the folks 35 miles away send F16 strike forces to my neighborhood and drops napalm. This is OK? When anti-Semitism and stupidity collides. 12:10AM: Ok, folks, I’m calling it a night. Feel free to keep the discussion going in the comments, and I’ll hopefully continue later this morning, Israel time. Actually, I take that back. Hopefully, we would have finished the job by then, and there won’t be a necessity to live-blog. 5:55AM: Morning folks. Since I last posted, Israel has struck more targets in Gaza, it has been reported that we killed 3 senior Hamasholes, and a PA official did not sound too sad about Israel’s operation in an interview with the Jerusalem Post. 5:56AM: Holy flying pigs, Batman! Video of Egypt blaming Hamas. 7:40AM: In yet another indication of the difference between Israel and the palestinians, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has permitted medical aid and basic humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. 7:48PAM: It looks like one of our targets has been Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV station. Which means no more Farfur, Nahoul or Assud. Oh wait, we killed them already. 7:55AM: The palestinian Ma’an News is sticking to the trusty “Israel is striking metal workshops” narrative. Based on the palestinian reporting, you would think that Gaza was the world’s largest manufacturer of metal items. They are also still referring to Qassams and mortar shells as “homemade projectiles,” in an obvious attempt to downplay their lethality. 8:05AM: Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard: “Clearly, we are calling on Hamas and other militants to cease shelling southern Israel. Obviously they have broken the cease-fire and engaged in an act of aggression against Israel. Israel has responded. We are echoing the calls from around the world for parties to move back to a ceasefire.” 8:09AM: US representative Howard L. Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee: “Israel has a right, indeed a duty, to defend itself in response to the hundreds of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza over the past week. No government in the world would sit by and allow its citizens to be subjected to this kind of indiscriminate bombardment. The loss of innocent life is a terrible tragedy, and the blame for that tragedy lies with Hamas.” 8:15AM: Many Israeli schoolchildren in communities near Gaza will not be attending school today, and will instead remain in bomb shelters. 8:20AM: Anti-Israel blogger Richard Silverstein (http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/) does not currently seem to have anything to say about the operation. His latest post is entitled: Ouch! Toilet Seat Injuries to Little Boys Appear on Rise. 8:22AM: Here’s a good place to follow the Qassams being fired into Israel: http://twitter.com/QassamCount 8:24AM: Ha’aretz: GOC Southern Command: IDF will send Gaza back decades Why not send them back centuries. Then you can truly say that Israel has gone medieval on them. 8:27AM: John Belushi? 8:40AM: The UN is set to..ehhh…be the UN. The United Nations Security Council held emergency consultations Saturday night and early Sunday on the Israeli bombings in Hamas-ruled Gaza and debated whether to adopt a statement urging Israel to halt its military operations without delay. Here’s hoping we don’t listen. 8:53AM: This protester seems a little too happy. Perhaps she belongs to Fatah? 8:55AM: The IDF estimates that Hamas still has the means for an extensive response, and are able to fire as many as 200 rockets a day. 9:05AM: Richard Landes thinks something smells at the Washington Post: According to I*Consult, the Washington Post just published the following photo from Gaza — shot and captioned by an Arab photographer. (Hattip Barry Rubin) The caption reads: Palestinian children and a man wounded in Israeli missile strikes are seen in the emergency area at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008. Israeli warplanes demolished dozens of Hamas security compounds across Gaza on Saturday in unprecedented waves of simultaneous air strikes. Gaza medics said at least 145 people were killed and more than 310 wounded in the single deadliest day in Gaza fighting in recent memory. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) (Khalil Hamra – AP) Are the three children on the other stretcher wounded? Or dressing? Actually, if you read the text carefully, it doesn’t say the children are wounded, but that they are photographed with a wounded man. My suspicion is that were there real blood on these children’s bodies the photographer would have included it in his photo. I think he has a point. 9:26AM: London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi reports that Egypt “collaborated” with Israel by lulling Hamas into thinking the IDF would not attack Gaza. 9:31AM: From my inbox, and worth repeating: Apparently, Benjamin Netanyahu gave an interview and was asked about Israel’s occupation of Arab lands. His response was “It’s our land”. The reporter (CNN or the like) was stunned – read below “It’s our land…” It’s important information since we don’t get fair and accurate reporting from the media and facts tend to get lost in the jumble of daily events. “Crash Course on the Arab Israeli Conflict.” Here are overlooked facts in the current Middle East situation. These were compiled by a Christian university professor: BRIEF FACTS ON THE ISRAELI CONFLICT TODAY. It makes sense and it’s not slanted. Jew and non-Jew — it doesn’t matter. 1. Nationhood and Jerusalem. Israel became a nation in 1312 BCE, Two thousand years before the rise of Islam. 2. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel. 3. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 BCE, the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years. 4. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 CE lasted no more than 22 years. 5. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit. 6. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. 7. King David founded the city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem. 8. Jews pray fa… truncated (14,144 more characters in archive)