Here’s how you can tell if the IDF attack overnight Wednesday was part of a policy of victory or containment: in 65 attacks, not a single terrorist was killed or injured. And so, aware of its own unconvincing performance in retaliation for Hamas and the Islamic Jihad deciding one clear day to shoot a barrage of mortars and rockets at Israeli civilians, the security apparatus under Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) was out Thursday morning attempting to convince Israelis just how much damage had been inflicted on the enemy.
The IDF published aerial photos of some of the targets the Air Force attacked in Gaza 24 hours ago. Among the targets, the IDF Spokesperson listed positions of the Hamas naval force, sites for the manufacture of weapons, a warehouse for drones, and a lathe for the manufacture of rockets.
Thank God no Arab terrorist was there at the time to witness all that fury, or they would have lost an eye or something.
According to a statement by the IDF Spokesperson, “the attack damaged the immediate stockpile of weapons available to Hamas and also damaged the economic investment necessary to develop the weapons.”
Then the spokesperson went back to claim that “Hamas’ naval force was significantly damaged and a large part of its installations and production facilities were destroyed.”
During the 2014 Gaza war a force of four Hamas terrorists emerged from the sea to attack an Israeli military base. Israel is now responding by erecting a security wall perpendicular to the Gaza beach, to prevent future attempts of this kind. It’s a little expensive, compared to, say, keeping a couple of missile cutters on patrol there – which the Israeli Navy is already doing – but what the heck, it couldn’t hurt, plus, eventually you could probably fish off of that thing.
But attacking the Hamas Navy smacks of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Nevertheless, the following was delivered with a straight face by the IDF Spokesperson: “Most of the positions of the Islamic Jihad’s naval force were attacked, so that it would be difficult for the organizations in the Gaza Strip to operate in the maritime area.”
No very model of an Islamic Jihad Modern Major-General was hurt in the attacks.
Ha’aretz on Thursday morning quoted a political source who said “the IDF gave a significant blow in the fighting in Gaza,” adding, “If the fire is renewed, the attacks on Hamas will be even stronger.”
Maybe they’ll even kill someone, who knows.
A senior source in the defense establishment told Ha’aretz: “The IDF landed a significant blow at night in Gaza. We act responsibly.”
Now, here’s the cake: after having shot about 100 rockets into the civilian Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, Hamas declared a unilateral cease-fire Wednesday, reaching an understandings with Egypt – without an Israeli input. In response, the IDF said it would honor the understandings on the condition that Hamas stop the shooting and that the quiet be maintained.
We have only one question: Is Ismail Haniyeh Dead Yet?