BICOM

Israel’s military operation against armed groups in the Gaza Strip looks set to continue today, with the IDF dropping leaflets over Gaza warning civilians to stay away from “Hamas operatives and facilities.” Israeli authorities also placed thousands of phone calls to Gaza residents warning them of IDF strikes in their area.

The operation, called ‘Pillar of Defence’, began yesterday afternoon with a targeted airstrike which killed Hamas’ top military commander Ahmed al-Jabari, with other key Hamas militant leaders also targeted, including al-Jabari’s number two, Raed al-Atar. In another major strategic success in the first phase of the operation, airstrikes reportedly wiped out Hamas’s arsenal of longer-range Fajr 5 rockets, which had the potential to reach Tel Aviv.

The operation was launched following several days of Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza at Israeli towns. Between 10 and 12 November there was a barrage of rocket fire from Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups aimed at Israeli towns, forcing hundreds of thousands of Israelis into shelters. The latest escalation began on 10 November with a Palestinian armed group firing a guided anti-tank missile at an Israeli jeep patrolling the border, injuring four Israeli soldiers, two of them seriously. This followed a series of Palestinian attacks of increasing audacity, including the large detonation of a tunnel on the Israeli side of the border targeting Israeli soldiers on 8 November, and the detonation on an IED on the border on 23 October which seriously injured an Israeli officer.

Escalations in rocket fire from Gaza at Israeli towns have also become increasingly frequent in the last year, with Israeli decision makers until now choosing a relatively low-key response to prevent a more serious conflict developing. However, with normal life for Israeli civilians in southern Israel deteriorating rapidly, Israel has now been forced to act.

IDF spokesmen stressed yesterday that they intended to be pinpoint in their strikes to avoid civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, but warned that some civilian casualties were inevitable due to Hamas’s deliberate tactic of hiding its weapons and forces in civilian areas.