Drumbeats of War - Israel Gaza War II
As the semi-US-led… whatever it is… in Libya flitters around like a leaf in the wind, and vicious rumors circulate that Egypt is contemplating coming in on the Qaddafi side…
As Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar answer the House of Saud’s siren call to help pacify Bahrain with their troops, and Bahraini airlines suspend flights to Iran, Iraq and Lebanon for fear Shia fighters will use a commercial airlift to infiltrate that tiny country…
As the kidnapping of seven cyclists from Estonia marks the beginning of hostage season again in Lebanon, where 88 nationals of other countries were abducted between 1984 and 1990, and Prime Minister designate Miqati furiously attempts to cobble together a government before his hourglass runs out of sand…
… the real story right now is Israel.
Palestinian Gaza has been bombarding the citizenry of Israel non-stop for a dozen days in a row.
Israeli villages on the edge of Gaza were ordered to stay close to bomb shelters Tuesday night, after 56 mortar rounds within three days (50 in a single barrage on Saturday) hit open ground and occupied buildings, causing substantial damage and light non-fatal casualties. During the night, two heavy Grad missiles hit the seaside vacation destinations of Ashkelon and Ashdod, along with several mortar shells.
Early Wednesday, the second Grad missile within 24 hours caused five casualties in Beersheba. Another 20 missiles and shells peppered Israel during the day. Tonight 750,000 Israelis are going to ground in their (hopefully) bomb-proof shelters and safe rooms.
On top of all that, a page has been revived from the 2003-2006 playbook of Palestinian attacks within Jerusalem. Today an explosive device in a suitcase was remote detonated as a bus pulled away from one of Jerusalem’s busiest intersections. One woman was killed outright, about 35 wounded, some very seriously, and 20 shock victims showed up at hospitals after the blast.
But an incident that occurred earlier this month is the one which most haunts the people of Israel. Five members of a family were murdered brutally in their sleep, in their beds, in their own home. Guilt for the heinous crime has been laid at the feet of Palestinians, although there have been no arrests yet, and many Israeli Palestinians also decry the perpetrators as lower than animals.
Schools in Beersheba and Ashdod have been closed until at least next week.
Israel has struck back at Gaza with warplanes and bombings and tank rounds. Smuggling tunnels and the buildings above them have been demolished. Sometimes buildings suspected to be militant training centers are leveled. Casualties are frequent, although there is never agreement as to how many.
Whenever the IDF can identify where a missile or mortar round is launched from, there is an immediate response, often killing or wounding the militants doing the launching. Just about as often, they cause collateral civilian casualties. When possible, the Israelis use precision targeting methods. When they are in a hurry to hit the missile teams, they use whatever they can fire quickly.
Tuesday, a volley of Israeli tank fire ostensibly meant for Palestinian militants hit a home in Gaza. World media said at least 10 were killed, including 4 children, with 50 others seriously injured.
This list of sorrows is not unusual in the Middle East. From Tunisia to Libya and beyond, we are seeing death paraded in front of us like a procession on Dia de los Muertos.
But for tiny Israel, and even tinier Gaza, in a part of the world that has essentially been at, or preparing for, or recovering from war for nearly six decades without much of a break… this may be the time when people on both sides finally say ‘enough is enough’ and go at each other tooth and nail.
The citizenry of Beersheba and Ashdod are loudly demanding that the Israeli politicians, who keep telling them everything is fine, must get out of the way and let the Israeli Defense Forces do something medieval to Hamas in Gaza.
They are not alone. According to Israeli sources, “several cabinet ministers… are pushing for a major campaign against Hamas,” like the Cast Lead operation. That infamous campaign is also called the Gaza War. It took place for three bloody weeks during the winter of 2008-2009. It killed somewhere between 1,100 and 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis, mostly soldiers. It is not a bright moment in history. It did mitigate missile fire into Israel from Gaza for a certain amount of time, which has certainly passed.
The opposing side also seems ready for a final commitment, and not only from Gaza. Lebanese media reports that Israeli ‘intelligence officials’ are saying that “Syria might use Hizbullah to launch attacks on the Jewish state to divert attention from the growing protests against President Bashar Assad’s regime.”
Israeli President Peres, foremost among Israeli statesmen trying to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian Question, today said, “The Iranians are investing 1 billion dollars a year to bolster Hizbullah, at a time when there is unemployment and poverty in Iran. They only seek to strengthen the Shiites in Lebanon. They have only one goal.”
Clearly, he believes that one goal is… war with Israel.
Most analysts believe that if there is conflict between Israel and either Gaza or Lebanese Hezbollah, the other will jump in. Question is whether only the proxies of Syria and Iran will do battle with the Israelites, or if any flash war will cause every Islamic nation of the Middle East to join together against Israel.
That possibility has been enhanced by the paper tiger performance of the US in Libya. Our apparent lack of will and certain indecision has no doubt raised at least some question in the minds of Assad of Syria, Ahmadinejad of Iran, and Nasrallah of Lebanon, whether the US will actually come to the aid of Israel if push comes to shove.
Is that same question in the minds of our sole firm ally in the Middle East? Do they trust Obama to follow through on promises made by the US to Israel through the decades? Or will Israel decide they must go it alone, using all the means at their disposal, including the long awaited formal revelation that they possess nuclear weaponry to insure against Israel’s destruction by conventional means?
The dogs of war, having been allowed only the smallest of appetizers, are baying beneath the Star of David and the Islamic crescent.
