July 8, 2014: another war with Hamas

This morning, all of Israel awoke to news of war. Israel has launched a military attack against Gaza. Israel calls this attack, ‘Operation Protective Edge’.

This is the third time since 2008 that Hamas in Gaza has provoked a major Israeli military strike. Even though Hamas, essentially, owns all of Gaza—and even though Gaza is 100 per cent Jew-free—Hamas still chooses to attack Israel.

If you want to understand why, do a google-search for, ‘Hamas Charter’. Read that Charter.

In the years leading up to each of these three large-scale military actions by Israel, Hamas has pummelled Israel’s civilian population with thousands of rockets. These attacks are an act of war. But no world-wide effort has yet been made to stop them. Israel has been abandoned. It must face these attacks alone.

Now, once again, the world remains stunningly silent as Hamas pummels Israel’s civilians. Now, again, Israel acts alone.

After Israel pulled out of Gaza in August, 2005, the newly Judenrein (Jew-free) Gaza fell into Hamas hands. Instead of becoming a showcase for Arab modernity, Gaza became a terror launching pad. Hamas began firing rockets into Israel. By December, 2007, Hamas had bombarded Israel with more than 4,000 rockets. Then, during the eleven months leading up to what Israel called, ‘Operation Cast Lead’, Hamas fired 2,300 more rockets at Israel’s civilians.

‘Cast Lead’ began in December, 2008. It lasted three weeks.

As a result of ‘Cast Lead’, Gaza lost nearly $2 billion in assets. That was the ‘economic impact’ of starting up with Israel. According to some, four thousand Gaza homes were destroyed. More than six hundred factories, small industries, workshops and business enterprises were destroyed.

It didn’t matter. Hamas’ hate of Israel (see their Charter) is white-hot. Hamas doesn’t care how what gets destroyed--so long as it fights to destroy Israel.

‘Operation Cast Lead’ ended in January, 2009. By 2010, Hamas was again firing rockets at Israel’s civilians. In 2011, it fired 680 rockets at Israel. In the ten-and-a-half months of 2012 leading up to a second major Israeli attack called, ‘Pillar of Defence’, Hamas fired 797 more rockets at Israel’s civilians. Then, in a single 24-hour period in mid-November, 2012, Hamas fired more than 100 rockets—again, at Israel’s civilians. That 100-rocket barrage provoked Israel to attack. This was why ‘Operation Pillar of Defense’ began—to stop those rockets.  

This 2012 Operation lasted just eight days. But in this eight-day period, Hamas demonstrated how it had morphed from small-time terror-organization to a serious terror player: as Israel dropped 1,500 bombs on Gaza, Hamas fired 1,452 rockets at Israel. More significantly, Hamas rockets were now more powerful than ever. They landed in Tel Aviv and dropped close to Jerusalem.

During this eight-day ‘Operation Pillar of Defense,’ Arab rioting and attacks against the Israel Defense Force (IDF) rippled across Judea-Samaria. Arabs also attacked civilian Jewish vehicles on highways. They attacked check-points. They threw fire-bombs.

‘Pillar of Defense’ cost Gaza something like 250–300 millionUSD in economic impact costs. By at least one estimate, the eight days of fighting left Gaza with 124 houses destroyed and 2,050 damaged. Fifteen factories and 192 ‘trade shops’ were destroyed. Hospitals, mosques, schools, government buildings, police stations and water wells were destroyed.

It didn’t matter. Hamas rockets could now reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. What else mattered?

Today, Hamas attacks Israel’s civilians again. Between Wednesday, July 2, 2014 and Sunday, July 6^th, Hamas fired close to 130 rockets at Israel’s civilians. Then, on Tuesday-Wednesday (July 7-8), Hamas repeated what it had done on November 11-12, 2012: it fired more than a 100 rockets at Israel’s civilians in less than 24 hours.

That’s why Israel attacks Gaza again—this time, with ‘Operation Protective Edge’. Hamas, of course, doesn’t care.  It announces that its rockets can reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It threatens to create an ‘earthquake’ against Israel.

PLO news reports that Israeli air strikes began last night (Monday pm, July 7-8). Like Israel’s media, the PLO wire service sees this current Hamas-Israel conflict as the most serious flare-up since November 2012. PLO news agrees with Israel’s news: this Hamas-Israel fighting comes as Israel struggles to contain a wave of violence in ‘Palestinian’ towns over the alleged murder of an Arab teenager  (“17 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight”, PLO news, July 8, 2014).

An Arab teenager died in a strikingly unusual crime (six Jewish teens have been arrested for the Arab boy’s murder).  In protest, Arabs have rioted all across Central and Northern Israel. Hamas, meanwhile, has attacked Israel from Gaza.

Earlier today, 40,000 IDF reservists were called up. There is talk of a ground offensive into Gaza. We are at war--again.

We pray for the safe return of our Jewish soldiers.