Outside the Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks, heavy artillery and as announced by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) spokesman 300 thousand reservists have who have now been called up to duty are gathering.
While it has not been announced by Israel, there is now no question Israeli ground forces will enter Gaza to attack and finish off Hamas, if that’s a mission that can be accomplished.
Last night Israeli P.M. Netanyahu laid the ground work for the upcoming storm, saying “We are at war for our existence, one that we will win” “Hamas is the same as ISIS. We’ve always known what Hamas was, and now the world knows it too”
More than 900 Israelis were killed when Hamas broke out of Gaza and attacked.
Netanyahu announced he will seek a national unity emergency government, which by its very definition will include the main opposition parties, although they have not yet agreed to terms and negotiations are on going.
The scenes of the bloody aftermath and stomach turning, blood thirsty, brutal attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians over the weekend are clear.
At the scene of an outdoor concert near Gaza, there are 260 bodies that have been collected where Hamas started executing all in sight with no regard to the lives of the innocence.
Accounts fro Israeli’s in nearby towns and settlements are shocking, including the break ins to homes and the killing of mothers and fathers, in front of young children who were also shot or kidnapped.
As many as 120 Israeli’s are known to have been kidnapped and dragged back in Gaza where they are now being held, some paraded and abused in open in Gaza, including women stripped of clothing.
Stories of rapes have emerged by Hamas militants who have abused their captives even before taking them from the concert or from their homes.
Israel is in shock that the worst intelligence failure in it’s history preceded the most deadly mass terror event in the nations history.
The IDF spokesman answers to questions now reveal a much the army has already been tasked with the following;
“We have been ordered by cabinet. To take as long as we need but at the end of this war Hamas will no longer have the ability to inflict any damage on Israeli civilians And we have also been tasked Hamas can no longer govern the Gaza Strip”
That’s a clear statement of intent as ordered by Government. There is no way to “deny any and every military capability” to Hamas without a ground war.
Inside Gaza the pain is already being felt, by the 2.3 million residents who are under heavy bombardment by the Israeli airforce, with deaths reported in the hundreds.
Israel has cut off water and power, food and fuel in advance of the coming ground offensive.
But Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on earth, a twisting maze of tiny alleyways and narrow passages threading their way through what is a very large refugee camp, or in essence a massive prison.
Israeli’s ground assault will be extremely costly as soldiers will be under heavy fire and booby traps, and Gaza will defended by a population which won’t see this as an attack on Hamas but an all out assault on them.
The notion Hamas, can be removed from power in Gaza is hard to imagine and the military plans while something Israeli forces are now training to implement, seem an impossible task.
This while Hamas has now said it will soon begin executing Israeli hostages while coming under fire. That spectacle will be cruel, and horrible for Israeli’s and the world to witness.
But we should all understand Hamas will kill with no hesitation, no conscience, no regret, as Israel witnessed this past weekend.