Israel Matzav

IDF in Gaza; 'Palestinians' threaten to kill Eliyahu Asheri

IDF ground troops are currently in Gaza looking for hostage Gilad Shalit, and the 'Palestinians' are threatening to murder 18-year old civilian Eliyahu Asheri if the invasion doesn't stop. The fact that it is Asheri that they are threatening to murder and not Shalit speaks volumes - unfortunately I will be very surprised if Shalit is still alive.

According to HaAretz (link below), the IDF operation is designed to gain "bargaining chips" by taking control of open areas, such as the area near Rafah and later the northern Gaza Strip.

Israel hopes that this will eventually lead to a diplomatic agreement that will include freeing kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in return for stopping the fire. Olmert has already rejected the idea of freeing Palestinian prisoners.

Meanwhile, Palestinian residents of Rafah began fleeing westward, fearing that the city would be cut off by Israeli forces. According to Arutz Sheva, many Gaza residents are trying to flee the strip altogether. You will recall that I wrote yesterday that the Egyptians deployed 2500 troops at their border with Gaza, ostensibly to prevent Gilad Shalit's kidnappers from fleeing with him, but really to prevent 'Palestinians' from fleeing into Egypt. So much for the solidarity of the Ummah.

For a map of Gaza see here. Rafah is in the south on the Egyptian border.

After the IDF blew up three bridges around Midnight to (hopefully) prevent those holding Gilad Shalit from escaping with him, and after they blew up a Gaza City electrical transformer, around 1:30 AM, cutting off power to parts of the strip, ground troops entered Gaza from the southeast around 2:30 AM local time, and the troops gained control of two key sites near Dahaniya. One of those sites was the former 'Palestinian' airport at Dahaniya (which I do not see on the map I linked for you, but the southeast entry point would be at Kerem Shalom, which is on the map), which the IDF destroyed in 2001 after a terror attack against Israeli customs department airport workers. Dahaniya itself was a 'collaborators' village maintained by Israel that was to be razed when the IDF departed Gaza last summer.

According to 'Palestinian' sources, shortly before the IDF troops entered, Palestinian security forces deployed near the Gazan border town of Rafah were ordered out by the Israeli military.

The three bridges connected the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip. Later, Palestinian sources reported that Israeli warplanes attacked one of the bridges for a second time, and before daybreak warplanes flew low over Gaza city, causing sonic booms and breaking windows. (Daybreak today was a drop after 5:30 AM). Gaza City is in the northern part of the Gaza Strip just south of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.

The 'Palestinians' were able to restore partial power in Gaza City by tapping into electricity supplied by Israel in northern Gaza.

At the same time, artillery units were shelling areas from where Kassam rockets were often launched at Israel. These areas are mostly in the northern part of Gaza - Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.

The troops encountered very little resistance from the 'Palestinians.'

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon said early Wednesday that Israel will end its military offensive in Gaza if kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is released in good health.

For those who have not been through this before, the surest sign that Israel is winning in Gaza will be if the UN Security Council convenes to try to stop the IDF. The only war in which that did not happen within a day or two was the Yom Kippur War, where the Security Council did not meet as long as Israel was being routed.

By the way, some of you may find it interesting to look at pictures of 'Palestinian' war preparations. If so, look here and here. The pictures are much more telling than what you will see in any of the mainstream media, and they come with a full explanation.

Despite the invasion, terrorists fired two Kassams at Israeli communities in the Western Negev a short time ago. No reports yet on injuries or damage.

The sources I drew on for this article are here, here and here, in addition to other items linked in this article.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:10 AM