Israeli Ground Forces Cross Border Into Gaza Strip

[Moon]

Israeli Ground Forces Cross Border Into Gaza Strip

Saturday, January 03, 2009

DEVELOPING: Israeli ground forces began moving across the border into the northern Gaza Strip in an escalation late Saturday night of the weeklong offensive against Hamas.

The incursion was confirmed to FOX News by Israeli defense officials, and witnesses in the Gaza Strip reported seeing troops moving in — a development that Reuters described as a small column of Israeli military vehicles backed by combat helicopters.

Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip had intensified Saturday evening as tanks began repositioning themselves around the border despite international efforts to secure a cease-fire and avert a ground war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel launched the aerial campaign a week ago in a bid to halt weeks of intensifying Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza. The offensive has dealt a heavy blow to Hamas, but failed to halt the rocket fire.

Early Saturday, Israel dropped leaflets in downtown Gaza City ordering people off the streets.

Link

[Lars1701a]

I am glad to hear it. I wonder how long it will take the magic negro to chime in and tell them to use "restraint"

[asdf2231]

Godspeed and do a better job this time.

[Dan D. Doty]

The Moonbats will be having a fit about this; wonder how many will go to to fight against the IDF?

My guess, zero.

Come on TiT, now's your chance.

[Zeus]

Israel okays call-up of tens of thousands of IDF reservists
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Reuters

Israel's government has approved the call-up of tens of thousands of reservist soldiers, it was annnounced Saturday, almost simultaneously with the launch of a Gaza ground incursion aimed at halting rocket fire on Israel's southern communities.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said in a statement that, in accordance with a secret cabinet discussion Friday, the government ordered the armed forces "to draft the necessary reservists, on a scale of tens of thousands of troops."

The Gaza ground operation launched Saturday had actually been approved last week, but Olmert promised his ministers that when the time came to begin the offensive, it would first be brought for fresh approval by the security cabinet. On Thursday night, Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a meeting that lasted until 4 A.M., during which it was decided that that time had come.

On Friday afternoon, at around 2 P.M., the security cabinet convened at Olmert's office at the Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv. The meeting was held in utmost secrecy, and the military censor even banned reports that the discussion had taken place.

As the cabinet debate dragged on, the two ministers from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party said that they would stay at the meeting despite the imminent onset of the Sabbath, as the discussion constituted "pikuah nefesh" (the saving of human life which allows Jews to break religious laws). Olmert told the two to go home, but to each leave a note with their votes on the issue of a ground operation.

In the voting, 10 ministers were in favor of the operation, while two - Haim Ramon of Kadima and Eli Yishai of Shas - abstained.

[mark1]

I am glad to hear it. I wonder how long it will take the magic negro to chime in and tell them to use "restraint"

Whenever Israel starts getting serious, the "international community" pressures Israel to stop. Which is just postponing the inevitable. Eventually Israel finds itself repeating the operation at a later time. If they want to be successful now, they have to finish what they started and kill the damn terrorists, no matter what the "international community" says. Only when Israel itself is convinced that they won should they retreat.

By the way, just to remind everybody, Israel totally withdrew from Gaza three years ago, yet the terrorists are still fighting Israel from there. So even if you are against the so called "settlements" (which is a stupid position to take, but that argument is for another time) Israel is totally justified here. It is as if North and South Carolina had a war, and the North agreed to stop fighting, signed a truce, and withdrew all of its forces from South Carolina. And the South Carolinians then commenced rocket attacks over the border into Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh-Durham, and Ashville. Same situation here with Israel and Gaza.

[SarasotaRepub]

Godspeed and do a better job this time.

Agreed. A much better job.

[Milly]

I do love watching CNN and Fox when the rockets are lighting up enemy cities. It's like a super fireworks display.

[jeskibuff]

just to remind everybody, Israel totally withdrew from Gaza three years ago, yet the terrorists are still fighting Israel from there. So even if you are against the so called "settlements" (which is a stupid position to take, but that argument is for another time) Israel is totally justified here. It is as if North and South Carolina had a war, and the North agreed to stop fighting, signed a truce, and withdrew all of its forces from South Carolina. And the South Carolinians then commenced rocket attacks over the border into Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh-Durham, and Ashville. Same situation here with Israel and Gaza.

No matter how simply you explain things, some people (a.k.a."liberals") will NEVER.GET.IT! They feel the need to dig up some bogus explanation that suits them better ("North Carolinians must have done SOMETHING wrong to deserve the rocket attacks"). Again, affirming that liberals are the dumbest people on the planet.

[Odysseus]

I am glad to hear it. I wonder how long it will take the magic negro to chime in and tell them to use "restraint"

He's not going to weigh in until he has to. Right now, it's still on Bush's watch, and he can make the claim that we only have one president at a time (which didn't stop him from negotiating with the Iraqis while still only a candidate), but if he's lucky, Israel will have completed operations and wiped out Hamas before the inaugural or a ceasefire will be in place (the latter being more likely than the former, just because of the time constraint), but if not, it will still be ongoing when he takes office and he'll have to do more than just say "present."

No matter how simply you explain things, some people (a.k.a."liberals") will NEVER.GET.IT! They feel the need to dig up some bogus explanation that suits them better ("North Carolinians must have done SOMETHING wrong to deserve the rocket attacks"). Again, affirming that liberals are the dumbest people on the planet.

Not dumbest, just the most destructive. By siding with what they perceive as the underdog, they're making themselves look virtuous. The fact that the underdog in this case is a rabid pit bull that needs to be put down for the safety of everyone doesn't enter into it.