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IDF appears to have hit Gaza tunnel in response to mortar attacks
 [IsraelTimes] In vague statement, army says it targeted 'significant terror infrastructure,' warns it will strike 'above and below ground'Shortly after 1 a.m. on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that its jets had just struck "significant terror infrastructure" in the Gazoo Strip in retaliation for mortar fire on Wednesday. According to official Paleostinian media, that "significant terror infrastructure" was farmland in the southern Gazoo Strip. It’s more likely that the target was, in fact, something beneath the farmland ‐ a tunnel. What is less clear is to whom it belonged. The IDF strike came after three projectiles were fired at the Eshkol region in southern Israel over the course of a few hours on Wednesday and amid a substantial increase in the number of attacks coming from the Gazoo Strip over the past two months. The IDF would not elaborate on the nature of the "significant terror infrastructure" it targeted. Last year, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot responded to criticism that the military was targeting "sand dunes and empty bunkers" in its strikes in Gazoo, telling the Knesset that the IDF is actively thwarting the tunnels and publicly acknowledging for the first time that the army has the technology to do so. "Every missile or shell we fired was at a valuable target, at underground targets," Eisenkot said in March. "We have developed a capability that allows us to strike them." On Thursday, the army said it was "prepared for any scenario" and would not allow any breach of Israeli illusory sovereignty. "The IDF will continue to use all the measures at its disposal, above and below ground, to thwart attacks against Israelis," the military said. Noticeably missing from the army’s statement about the attack was the nature of the target. In general, the army names the targets of its retaliatory strikes in Gazoo, which are almost exclusively military positions belonging to the Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede, terrorist group, the rulers of the Gazoo Strip. As a matter of policy, Israel holds Hamas responsible for any attacks emanating from the coastal enclave. The understanding is that by targeting Hamas, it will spur the terrorist group to rein in more radical elements in Gazoo. On Wednesday, however, it was reported that the military increasingly saw Hamas as unable to control the other terrorist groups in the Strip, notably the Iran-backed Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... , which the IDF believes carried out a mortar shell attack last Friday. The determination by the army indicated that the IDF might be changing its policy and could begin to directly target groups that carry out attacks, rather than only Hamas. One of the reasons behind the IDF’s assessment that the group was responsible for Friday’s attack is that the same Iranian-made, mass-produced 120mm mortar shells used in the barrage were also launched in the Islamic Jihad’s November 30 attack. The past month has seen a dramatic increase in the number of rocket and mortar attacks against Israel from the Gazoo Strip, reaching a level not seen since before the 2014 Gazoo war. Defense minister warns Islamic Jihad: We know you fired Friday’s mortar shells [IsraelTimes] In Arabic-subtitled video, Liberman says Israel will do 'anything' it must to prevent future attacks, calls on Gazans to convince terror groups to lay down arms. Posted by: trailing wife 2018-01-05 |
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