Israel warns Gaza invasion impending

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2008-02-29 02:54pm

From HERE

ASHKELON, Israel - Israel's deputy defense minister warned on Friday of a disaster in the Gaza Strip after Israel activated an air raid system to protect a major city from increasingly threatening Palestinian rocket barrages.

As Israeli troops, tanks and aircraft went after Palestinian rocket operations, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio that Israel had "no other choice" but to launch a massive military operation in Gaza.

"As the rocket fire grows, and the range increases ... they are bringing upon themselves a greater 'shoah' because we will use all our strength in every way we deem appropriate, whether in airstrikes or on the ground," Vilnai told Army Radio.

The Hebrew word "shoah" is most often associated with the Holocaust but Israelis use it to describe all sorts of disasters. A spokesman for Vilnai, Eitan Ginzburg, said the deputy defense minister never intended it as a reference to the Holocaust but used the word "shoah" to denote a disaster.

Israel evacuated its troops and settlers from Gaza in late 2005, but the rocket fire has persisted and this week became more ominous as Iranian-made rockets slammed into a major city.

Communities right over the Gaza border have taken the overwhelming brunt of the rocket attacks from Gaza, but militants firing longer-range Iranian rockets struck hit the town of Ashkelon several times on Thursday. One sliced through the roof of an apartment building and three floors below, and another landed near a school, wounding a 17-year-old girl.

Ashkelon, a beach town 11 miles north of Gaza, had been sporadically targeted in the past but never suffered direct hits or significant damage. Aside from its relatively large population of 120,000, the city is also home to a hospital, a power station, hotels and the European force that used to monitor a major Gaza-Israel crossing before Islamic Hamas militants violently seized control of Gaza in June.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday that the assaults on Ashkelon "demand an Israeli retaliation." Barak, who has warned repeatedly of a large-scale operation in Gaza, blamed Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers for the escalation in violence and said the militant movement would "suffer the consequences."

The Israeli military has completed its preparations for a major ground offensive and notified the government it is ready to move immediately when the order is given, Israeli defense officials said. But Israel does not intend to launch a major ground offensive in the next week or two, partly because the military prefers to wait for clearer weather, they said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

Israeli troops and tanks were in action Friday against rocket squads firing from northern Gaza, and Israeli aircraft continued to pummel targets in the coastal territory. Four children and a grandmother were among the 15 wounded, according to Gaza health officials.

A Palestinian rocket hit a house in the rocket-scarred Israeli town of Sderot, slightly wounding one person, Israeli rescue officials said. Another rocket that fell short landed on a house in northern Gaza, moderately wounding four civilians.

A spike in violence that began Wednesday with Israel's killing of two rocket masterminds has killed 32 Palestinians, including 15 civilians, among them eight children. The youngest was a 6-month-old boy. An Israeli man was killed in a rocket attack on Sderot on Wednesday.

Israel blamed the high Palestinian civilian death toll on rocket squads operating within civilian areas of Gaza. AP photos showed rockets being launched from densely populated areas.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians took to the streets Friday to bury their dead and protest the Israeli attacks. Some children at the protests wore white clothes stained with red paint to signify blood.

Gaza's Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who like other Hamas officials has been in hiding for weeks for fear of an Israeli assassination attempt, emerged Friday for prayers. Hamas, he told a crowd of 2,000, will not be cowed.

"You are mistaken if you thought that targeting buildings, ministries and police stations is going to stop our work," Haniyeh said, directing his comments at Israel. "We will work under trees, in tents and in the streets."

After Thursday's rocket attacks on Ashkelon, Israel activated its "Code Red" rocket warning system there, after previously using it only in communities much closer to Gaza. The system picks up incoming rockets and sounds an alarm in the target area, giving residents time — a few dozen seconds, in Ashkelon's case — to scramble for cover.

Despite past rocket hits in Ashkelon, Israel hesitated to activate the "Code Red" system there because officials didn't want to send 120,000 people running for shelter every time a rocket was launched in the direction of the city.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2008-02-29 03:00pm

Yay, expect hundreds of casulties on both sides, as the IDF attempts a land invasion into a slum of 1.3 million Palestinians.

Who said voter pressure never made armies do stupid things?

If the sarcasm isn't understandable, I find this to be stupid and will probably not change the situation.

Guardsman Bass · Post by **Guardsman Bass** » 2008-02-29 04:43pm

And back in they go. I don't suppose there's any chance that they'll actually hobble Hamas this?

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-02-29 08:23pm

Shame that, as a civilized nation subject to international scrutiny, Israel can't say "For every rocket you shoot, we'll shoot three back".

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2008-02-29 11:10pm

Why the fuck does Hamas or whatever keep on firing rockets, anyway? IT DOESN'T WORK, YOU FAT FUCKS!

Balrog · Post by **Balrog** » 2008-02-29 11:19pm

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Why the fuck does Hamas or whatever keep on firing rockets, anyway? IT DOESN'T WORK, YOU FAT FUCKS!

Stirs up the hornet's nest, the Israelis go in guns blazing, and pictures of dead women and children get bandied about with cries of "The Zionists are killing civilians!" Never mind that they use these 'innocents' are living shields, sometimes of their own accords...

NomAnor15 · Post by **NomAnor15** » 2008-02-29 11:46pm

Guardsman Bass wrote:And back in they go. I don't suppose there's any chance that they'll actually hobble Hamas this?

Based on past events...most likely not. In fact, I would hazard a guess that this will (or would, depending on if it actually happens) have the opposite effect.

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2008-03-01 12:03am

I wonder how much longer before some religious retard advocates carpet bombing Gaza.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2008-03-01 12:22am

I'm suprised that nobody's advocated carpet bombing Gaza as a response already.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2008-03-01 12:49am

Speaking as a father...I saw a series of pictures of a six month old baby palestinian boy killed in the airstrikes...and I cried. At work. (Mind - I am not defending either side)

It made me realize how truly pointless and truly rubbish war is. That boy...that baby...just...6 months....How stupid we are as a species

. How completely and utterly unworthy we are. *poppy*

Singular Intellect · Post by **Singular Intellect** » 2008-03-01 01:34am

Chardok wrote:Speaking as a father...I saw a series of pictures of a six month old baby palestinian boy killed in the airstrikes...and I cried. At work. (Mind - I am not defending either side)

It made me realize how truly pointless and truly rubbish war is. That boy...that baby...just...6 months....How stupid we are as a species . How completely and utterly unworthy we are. *poppy*

While I understand your pain on the issue, we as a species are not unique in killing young of our own species.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2008-03-01 01:57am

When abstract concepts such as race, religion, nationalities, borders and boundaries are valued more than the sanctity of human life - this is what you get. And those abstract concepts that create boundaries between people are what those in power use to keep themselves in power.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2008-03-01 02:50am

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Why the fuck does Hamas or whatever keep on firing rockets, anyway? IT DOESN'T WORK, YOU FAT FUCKS!

Umm, the more Israel crackdowns, the more power Hamas has over its own people. That’s all they really care about at this point. The more power they gain now the more resources they can hope to mobilize in the future.

The Grim Squeaker · Post by **The Grim Squeaker** » 2008-03-01 04:50am

Ace Pace wrote: If the sarcasm isn't understandable, I find this to be stupid and will probably not change the situation.

No, no, of course it will change it. It'll make it worse

.

At least they probably can't be stupid enough to stay in there again...right? At least, not for a while.

hongi · Post by **hongi** » 2008-03-01 06:12am

If only Israel had a way to kill people without collateral damage. I cheer a little everytime I read about Israel killing the terrorist fucktards, and I get sad everytime I read about the casualties listed on the same page.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2008-03-01 06:18am

hongi wrote:If only Israel had a way to kill people without collateral damage.

The problem is, they're not causing enough collateral damage. The entire Israel-Palestinian conflict just goes to prove Saint Curtis' dictum on war:

Actually I think it's more immoral to use less force than necessary, than it is to use more. If you use less force, you kill off more of humanity in the long run, because you are merely protracting the struggle.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2008-03-01 06:28am

Certainly took your time, Shep.

Matt Huang wrote:I'm suprised that nobody's advocated carpet bombing Gaza as a response already.

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-03-01 06:38am

Did somebody miss my "For every missile Hamas fires, Israel should fire three"?

cosmicalstorm · Post by **cosmicalstorm** » 2008-03-01 06:38am

Without either side carrying out a massive genocide that conflict could go on forever.
I really wonder how it is going to be resolved in the end?
I've heard people say that Israel will lose out to demographics in the end but im not sure if I belive that.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2008-03-01 06:39am

Matt Huang wrote:I'm suprised that nobody's advocated carpet bombing Gaza as a response already.

[/quote]

Pfft.

*Frank Hipper appears next to shep's head wearing a devil's outfit, like in those old Cartoons*

Devil Hipper: "You missed a spot, you realize."

Shep: Where? I can't totally carpet the place because of limitations on casualties in Israel etc.

Devil Hipper: "Everything east of the Armistice line to the Indian border. No Arabs, no Israel, no Saudi Arabia, No Syria, no problem! Nuke it! Nuke it ALL!"

Shep: What about the oil?

Devil Hipper: " 'Tis underground, and therefore safe, and ripe for the plucking!"

Shep: What about the infrastructure to pump it out?

Devil Hipper: "Infrastructure shminfrastructure, it can rebuilt with ease with the problems, i.e. the people, gone."

hongi · Post by **hongi** » 2008-03-01 06:49am

I've heard people say that Israel will lose out to demographics in the end but im not sure if I belive that.

Israeli Arab birth rates are dropping, Orthodox Jewish birth rates are still high. Don't know about the Palestinians.

The Grim Squeaker · Post by **The Grim Squeaker** » 2008-03-01 07:43am

hongi wrote:
I've heard people say that Israel will lose out to demographics in the end but im not sure if I belive that.
Israeli Arab birth rates are dropping, Orthodox Jewish birth rates are still high. Don't know about the Palestinians.

Still very, very high, if not as high as that of the Bedouin (Israeli arabs who are Bedouin), with them http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&c ... xmRcdlykkghaving the highest population growth rate in the world. (Quick source, although I can try to dig up a better one if you need).

Also, the Israeli Arab (But non Bedouin) birth rates have remained stable at 4.5% since 1985.

eyl · Post by **eyl** » 2008-03-01 10:34am

DEATH wrote:Also, the Israeli Arab (But non Bedouin) birth rates have remained stable at 4.5% since 1985.

Actually, they've been dropping since 2000.

Darth Smiley · Post by **Darth Smiley** » 2008-03-01 11:42am

I think a lot of people miss the point of 'terrorism'. A significant chunk of the organized terrorist groups that exist do not launch attacks in order to defeat 'teh evil Zionist American athiest infidels". They really don't care whether or not the attacks have a snowball's chance in hell to actually accomplish anything. The goal is to bring in support and power to their own organization. Look at Hamas's position as a political entity - firing rockets, regardless of Israeli response, is a political and propaganda win. If Israel counter-attacks, so much the better, because it makes people more loyal to Hamas and not less.

There is no easy way to stop this. Perhaps an invasion, huge amounts of damage, and hundreds, if not thousands, of lives lost, will force Hamas to back down by making the propaganda victory not worth the material cost - particularly if Israel shows willingness to do it again, and again, and again. Or not. Or even if it does, maybe some new organization pops up, or unorganized terrorist violence increases. However it works out, there is no way to get around lots of innocence people dying.

Post by **Coyote** » 2008-03-01 12:07pm

Actually, the best thing really would be for the IDF to get that fancy anti-rocket intercept device (laser or anti-missile missile) deployed and just swat down everything incoming. The tech isn't there yet, but once it is there, then Hamas can just cork off rocket's to their black little hearts' content and it'd all be for nothing.

Then the Palestinians can ask "why are you assholes wasting money on rockets when we have kids to feed?"