The IDF has stepped off smartly into the Gaza strip, on Op Cast Lead. (It was always “when” not “if,” wasn’t it?)
DEVELOPING: Israeli ground forces began moving across the border into the northern Gaza Strip in an escalation late Saturday night of the weeklong offensive against Hamas.
Israeli defense officials told FOX News that 20 Hamas militants had been killed in the incursion so far.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that the new offensive was the “second phase” of its battle to disable Hamas while pledging to protect Palestinian civilians. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel’s campaign “won’t be easy and it won’t be short.”
“We do not seek war but we will not abandon our citizens to the ongoing Hamas attacks,” Barak said in a televised address.
It has long been my opinion that the IDF did not come off the better in the summer war with Hezbollah in 2006– not an outright loss, but by no means a clear victory in a campaign that should have been won by a force historically steeped in small unit action at night. I do hope, in this case, that the IDF not only gives Hamas a good beating but that their infantry re-establishes its pre-eminence. Many eyes are watching.
UPDATE: B5′s own Uncle J weighs in. Take a few (nine) minutes to watch the video. And read the comments.
