For Hamas it may have been one rocket attack too many as the IDF’s Gaza Division has given the order. Ground forces are mobilizing and taking up position near the Gaza border ahead of a possible military action. The navy is moving additional forces off the Gaza Coast. The IDF’s Homefront Command continues to monitor events.
The increasing frequency of rocket attacks appears to have convinced cabinet ministers that something must be done to restore the deterrence to permit southern residents to return to a normal life, one that does not compel being 15 seconds running distance from a shelter.
Some 15 rockets were fired into southern Israel since Wednesday night the eve of 5 Tammuz. There were power outages in Sderot during the night as a result and houses have been damaged. In one case, a rocket pierced a concrete wall and landed in a home that was operating a summer camp for children. B’chasdei Hashem there has not been any loss of life.
14:00:
Nana News adds that a “minimal call up of IDF reservists” is in progress, quoting a senior officer stating anonymously that the troops are for defensive purposes only, not for an offensive operation.
The Security Cabinet continues sending messages calling for calm to Hamas in an effort to halt rocket fire and eliminate the need for a military operation.
14:03:
Channel 10’s Ohr Heller quotes PA (Palestinian Authority) sources stating the IAF is striking the Rafiach area of Gaza at this time. There is no confirmation of this from IDF sources.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz held an assessment with senior commanders earlier and it is clear Israel is doing what it can to avoid a military ground forces operation in Gaza at this time. There are still diplomatic efforts involving Egypt to prevent an escalation as well but in reality, Hamas has already drawn the line in the sand with its frequent and continuous rocket fire.
Channel 10 adds Hamas commanders are already deep underground, literally hiding in shelters, realizing there will be a price to pay.
14:21:
Sirens sounded in Ofakim minutes. There are no immediate reports of injuries.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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11 Responses
Time to take back Gaza once and for all. Peace? Yep. First, we’ll start with our own peace.
Some deterance keep waving your fist at hamas thatll show em
is it time to take Gaza back and that will stop all this garbage
If we go into Gaza -let’s pray to Hashem to protect our soldiers , while we’re here ” comfortably ” in America. .
I congratulate the three Internet warriors above for posting belligerent comments. Do you know what’s like to go into Gaza “uninvited”? One stands to lose life or limb in the process. If you truly believe we should take Gaza, why don’t you join the IDF instead of kibitzing on the side?
Although there’s uncertainty about our soldiers’ safety, we can’t be afraid to send them into Gaza, because it’s necessary. May Hashem protect them from harm. I’m actually happy when there’s an escalation, because that gives us an opportunity to clean house, which is better for us in the long term.
I hope that before the IDF goes into Gaza, they will sit down & discuss it first, with Susan Rice and the editorial board of the New York Times! They must get their permission first!
#5–I would, if I were younger than sixty. My service was in the US Army during Vietnam. By the way, what do you think an army is for, sitting in a garrison and drinking coffee?
#8 I think what is missing in some of the posts is a sensitivity for the families of the soldiers. We need to elevate ourselves to a level where the pain of any and every Jew should touch us personally. If a person can bring himself to say that he is happy when there is an escalation it shows there is a problem. If a person can throw out the ‘take Gaza back’ solution so easily as if it is the perfect solution, when the chances are that many more yidden could get killed chv’sh than what would with even 20 years of Gazan rockets, it shows the person doesn’t have a loved one who will have to go in.
If anything is to be learnt from the recent tragedy it is that we are one family. So if we are one family, the pain of everyone in the family must be felt, those who have lost a child, those who have rockets thrown at them and those who could have a son in mortal danger in the army.
#8, you’re saying: If I could I would? It’s the other way, sir. If I would, I could. Our Internet warriors, from the safety of Brooklyn, Monsey, or Baltimore urge others to jump into the fire. Their Israeli counterparts refuse to serve in the army. IMHO, the only thing they may say: I daven, say Tehilim, and learn in your sechus so that you should return home safely, intact in mind and body. I was a paramedic in the IDF. My “garrison” was a hole in the middle of nowhere in the Sinai Penninsula, called Bir Temada. My service took me to Gaza and Ramallah and some other atrocious places. And I don’t recall ever drinking coffee throughout my service. Neither did I see see anyone else doing so.
Go get them.