Hamas Shells Prompt Resolute Israeli Response

The Israel Air Force's attack on seven Gaza targets last night was the strongest in the past two years, ever since Israel's counterterrorist Cast Lead campaign. So say top IDF sources, adding that the objective was to "send a clear message to the terrorists of Hamas that the situation cannot continue as is."

 The Israeli response followed the firing from Gaza of at least a dozen mortar shells and rockets at Israel over the past two days, as well as other attacks in the past two weeks. Tuesday morning, following the IAF strike, Hamas terrorists fired a Kassam rocket at Israel, wounding a 15-year-old girl and damaging several buildings.

The Hamas terrorist organization has run Gaza ever since it overthrew Fatah in 2007, just two years after the Disengagement - Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza – that was supposed to have improved Israeli security.

Security sources say that Hamas feels it has tremendous amounts of weapons and ammunition, such as Kassam rockets, light-weapons, and explosives, and that Israel is limited in how strongly it can respond when attacked.

At the same time, IDF sources say, Hamas is not interested in a full-scale conflict with Israel at this time. Neither is Israel, for that matter – "but the picture could easily change," they say. "If, for instance, today's rocket had exploded inside a kindergarten, instead of nearby, and children would have been hurt, it is very likely that this afternoon would not have been peaceful as it is."

The IAF strikes Monday night targeted, among others, new tunnels dug by terrorists for the purpose of dispatching terror squads into Israel, ostensibly for the purpose of attacking or kidnapping civilians or soldiers.

IDF officials say that their latest offensive is not the end of the story, and they will not hesitate to act again if indicated.

UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry on Wednesday condemned the "firing of indiscriminate mortars and rockets by militant groups in Gaza at Israel which has escalated in recent days."

"These attacks are in clear violation of international humanitarian law and endanger civilians in Israel,''  Serry said in a statement.

More from INN