Gaza Strip, the escalation between Hamas and Israel
The article by Giuseppe Gagliano
About 160 planes flying simultaneously conducted a massive attack on a network of tunnels dug by the Hamas terrorist group under the northern Gaza Strip around midnight Thursday.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces, in this air campaign, which lasted almost 40 minutes, some 450 missiles were fired at 150 targets in northern Gaza, particularly around the city of Beit Lahiya.
The military said it was still working to determine the extent of damage to underground infrastructure, which is a "strategic asset" for Hamas, and the number of terrorist agents killed in the attacks.
In addition to the airstrike, Israeli tanks, artillery guns and infantry on the Gaza border conducted offensive actions against Hamas – notably anti-tank guided missiles and rocket launchers – while ground troops remained on the Israeli side. of the border and did not enter the Gaza Strip. In total, some 500 artillery shells – some rockets and some explosives – along with 50 tank shells were fired during this subsequent bombardment.
Following the Israeli attack, Hamas increased the waves of missile attacks on southern and central Israel, firing rockets at the cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Beersheba, Yavne and many surrounding communities, injuring at least two people. A rocket directly hit a building in the city of Ashkelon, seriously injuring a 60-year-old man.
Hamas attacks continued until Friday morning around Ashdod, Ashkelon and the Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip.
Some of the incoming bullets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, several landed in open areas where they did not cause any injuries, and a small number landed within populated areas, causing damage.
Minutes after the IDF attack began, Netanyahu released a statement promising that the operation would continue for as long as it takes to punish Hamas.
The IDF campaign in Gaza has so far been conducted primarily by air strikes, as well as artillery bombardments from land and sea, but the military said they were preparing for the possibility of a ground raid.
However, Israeli Defense officials made it clear that the goal of this current Gaza campaign, known as Operation Guardian of the Walls, was not to overthrow the Hamas terror group, but only to significantly weaken it and restore deterrence. to prevent future attacks.
In this regard, with regard to a possible land invasion, the IDF in recent days has deployed additional troops – from the Paratroopers Brigade, the Golani Infantry Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade – to the border of Gaza, sending with them tanks and armored vehicles.
The army also canceled all weekend leave for combat soldiers on Thursday as it was preparing for the possibility of a ground operation. In fact, Zilberman said the military has recalled 7,000 reservists.
In total, the IDF said on Friday that it has so far bombed more than 750 targets in the Strip since the fighting began, including several dozen terrorist agents and several high-level commanders; four skyscrapers used, at least in part, as Hamas military structures; dozens of tunnels and bunkers; and nearly 200 buried rocket launchers, according to Israeli Air Force statistics.
The military has also destroyed dozens of rocket manufacturing facilities, some of which, according to the IDF, will take years to replace.
As for international efforts to broker a ceasefire, mostly led by the Egyptian military and the United Nations, these have not made significant progress, as Israeli leaders have said they want to continue the operation until it has achieved its goals.
Once again, both the European Union and the UN have demonstrated their relevance at the international level. We will see how the Arab countries and the United States move.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/striscia-di-gaza-lescalation-tra-hamas-e-israele/ on Fri, 14 May 2021 10:43:03 +0000.