Breaking: IDF soldiers operating in KhanYunis (liveblog)
Israel Radio has just reported that IDF troops are operating in the area of Khan Yunis (see map) and have fired at 'open areas.'More to follow on this post.
UPDATE 4:00 PM
'Palestinian' sources report that the IAF has attacked targets in the southern Gaza Strip. A motorcycle in the Khan Yunis area was hit and two people were critically wounded. More here.
Egypt has asked European countries not to send ships to patrol its coastal waters to prevent Hamas from rearming, because the Arabs and Muslims find it 'insulting.'
Tough noogies.
President Obama's special envoy George Mitchell has arrived in Cairo. I'm sure he's thrilled with the greeting from the IDF.
UPDATE 5:17 PM
Hamas is denying responsibility for what is now being called a terror attack this morning. They also say they cannot control what other groups do.
Islamic Jihad - which has not taken responsibility either - threatens that this is an example of what will continue to happen if Israel does not open the Gaza crossing points.
Hamas has an interest in keeping things on a low flame, but not in a full-scale Israeli attack as happened earlier this month. They can live with this afternoon's Israeli response.
UPDATE 5:30 PM
Israel Radio reports that the government has not yet decided how to react to this morning's terror attack.
The Turkish foreign minister has called for Hamas to lay down its arms.
The Egyptian foreign minister (Ahmed Aboul Gheit) says that he hopes to reach an agreed 'cease fire' by next week.
UPDATE 5:45 PM
Amos Gilad, Israel's negotiator with the Egyptians, announced today that Israel cannot expect to get Gilad Shalit back in exchange for opening the crossings between Gaza and Israel. Of course not. The morons who are in the government gave up that possibility when they pulled the troops out of Gaza without destroying all of Hamas' weapons and without getting Shalit back. Worse, still, Gilad says that Israel will 'have to' open the crossings anyway.
Amos Gilad, the head of the military-diplomatic branch of the Defense Ministry, said on Tuesday that Israel will have to open crossings into Hamas-controlled Gaza without getting abducted soldier Gilad Shalit in return. Speaking at the National Defense Institute in Tel Aviv, Gilad said experience has shown the notion of getting Shalit for opening of the crossings is not practical.Fourteen days to the elections - we hope.
Gilad said that despite the deadly attack on an Israeli patrol near Kissufim Tuesday morning, Hamas has no plans to break the cease fire it announced last week. Speaking before news of the return of Israeli ground troops to Gaza, he said that Israel would respond with more than the closing of crossings.
UPDATE 6:01 PM
The soldier who was killed this morning was a battalion commander in a Bedouin troop. His family has asked that his name not be published.
Hamas is claiming that Israel has been violating the 'truce' all along.
UPDATE 6:33 PM
'Security sources' say that one of the 'Palestinians' who was hurt in the strike on the motorcycle this afternoon was 'involved in' the terror attack near the Kisufim crossing point this morning.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:30 PM
4 Comments:
Hmm... the ceasefire lasted barely a week.
And the IDF is back in action. Can any one really trust Hamas to keep an agreement?
(sound of crickets chirping)
If the IDF has no ground presence in, along or by the Philadelfi Corridor, the campaign wasn't won.
At a minimum, the IDF needs to take over the Philadelphi Corridor permanently. Israel should not condition her defense on how other countries will react. Hamas attacked Israel and should pay a heavy price.
Israel's leaders have had a spine of jelly for so long acting supine is the only thing they know how to do well. Hamas' attack forced them to response with force not because they wanted to but because elections are two weeks away. Even war is now a matter of electoral campaigning in Israel and all the rest is just commentary.
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