The State of Israel has been at war since Saturday morning. Hamas initiated an effective, sudden attack that caught the Israeli intelligence organizations completely by surprise and shattered the operational defense doctrine on the Gaza Strip border, writes columnist for the Israeli publication Haaretz Amos Harel.
“There is a large number, which has yet to be finally determined, of dead and wounded on the Israeli side. According to reports in Gaza, a considerable number of hostages and corpses have been brought there from Israel.
At this time, the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police are conducting house-to-house battles with armed Palestinians holed up in homes in Israeli communities along the border. The army is calling up reservists at an extent commensurate to war.
There have been terrible massacres in some communities and military bases. Although thousands of rockets and missiles have been fired into Israel, from the south to Jerusalem and the greater Tel Aviv area, that has been mainly a diversion: Hamas’ military effort is concentrated on the Israeli communities on the Gaza border. Tragically, it has been very successful.
There was apparently no intelligence for Saturday’s shock attack from the Gaza Strip, but there were preliminary signs. Now Israel is likely to respond with great force, and the possibility of a ground maneuver and occupation of the Strip cannot be ruled out. The eruption of a multi-arena campaign is also possible,” the author notes.
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