Israel’s view of the Gaza crisis

These videos represents the  Israeli view on the Gaza crisis, and the reasons that necessitated the Operation Cast Lead.

The video below answers to the following questions

1. Why is Israel attacking civilians in Gaza?

2. How can this be a just fight if more than 600 Palestinians have been killed as opposed to about 10 Israelis?

3. What about the idea of proportionality in war?

4. Should Israeli soldiers shoot even when civilians are in range?

5. Hamas is an elected government. Is Israel trying to overthrow a democracy?

Here we have another video trying to portrait life in Israel under missile firing from Hamas

Do note the views mentioned above in the videos are not necessarily the views of The Terror Journal.

Filed under: Analysis, Afghanistan, Aid, Analysis, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Hezbollah, IAF, IDF, India, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Katyusha Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Pakistan, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Sderot, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, UK, War

Rocket fire from Lebanon: a second front for Israel?

With the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continuing to rage and truce talks still far from bearing fruit, a militant group in Lebanon raised the possibility of opening a new front in the war Thursday.

Three Katyusha rockets were fired from southern Lebanon, one of them hitting a nursing home in the northern city of Nahariya, Israel, injuring two people.

Israel responded immediately with five artillery shells, which a military spokesman said was “a pinpoint response at the source of fire.”

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah in Lebanon want another war, say analysts. But that doesn’t mean that Hezbollah – or its allies – won’t launch small attacks on Israel or target Israeli aircraft over Lebanon, they say.

Israeli officials were reluctant to declare this the opening of another front, given that the rockets may have been fired by a pro-Palestinian militant group, but not by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Still, the devastating 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah – and by default, all of Lebanon – hangs like a specter over the current fighting and is serving as both a model and an obstacle to reaching a cease-fire with Hamas.

“The first assumption is that it’s not Hezbollah, it’s global jihadists, groups much more connected with Al Qaeda,” says Col. (Res.) Miri Eisin, a spokesperson for the Israeli government. “We’re talking about a group that doesn’t care about Lebanon or its politics, but uses it as a base, the way other militants do with Afghanistan or Iraq.”

“That’s part of the challenge,” she adds. “Distinguishing between isolated incidents and opening a second front.” She points out that just 10 days ago, the Lebanese government dismantled eight rockets it found aimed at Israel, indicating its intent to keep up its commitments to stop rocket fire from its territory.

Source: By Ilene R. Prusher The Christian Science Monitor

Filed under: Analysis, Analysis, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Hezbollah, IAF, IDF, Israel, Katyusha Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

Uncertainty over death of U.N aid truck driver

According to the foreign media, who based their information on UN sources, IDF tank shells blasted the truck. According to the Magen David Adom medic who said he evacuated the Palestinians to an Israeli hospital, the truck came under Hamas sniper fire. The medic, who asked not to be named, said he got his information from soldiers in the field. The IDF Spokesperson’s Office has not been able to provide a response or establish contact with the relevant sources in the field.

Adding to the confusion, the Palestinian Red Crescent said it evacuated the Palestinians, but the MDA medic said soldiers told him they went in, with great risk to themselves, and evacuated the wounded Palestinians. What is certain is that there is one dead Palestinian, and two others being treated at Ashkelon’s Barzilai Hospital with gunshot wounds to the chest.

“The UN is suspending its aid operations in Gaza until we can get safety and security guarantees for our staff,” spokesman Chris Gunness said. “We’ve been coordinating with them (Israeli forces) and yet our staff continue to be hit and killed.”

The UN has said it is suspending aid operations in Gaza because its staff have been hit by Israeli attack, the suspension would continue “until the Israeli authorities can guarantee our safety and security”, the UN said. The international Red Cross has also accused Israel of failing to fulfil its duty to help wounded civilians in Gaza.

Source: Reuters/Jerusalem Post

Filed under: MidEast, Aid, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Hezbollah, IAF, IDF, Israel, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, U.N, War

Rocket fire on North Israel realization of Iranian threat

Several days before Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called several of his European counterparts and warned that Israel would face additional fronts if it attacked.

The rocket fire on Thursday morning from Lebanon into northern Israel can be seen as the realization of the Iranian threat.

It is safe to assume that Palestinian operatives, working in coordination with Hezbollah and sponsored by Iran, are responsible for the rocket attacks in Nahariya and elsewhere in the north.

The rocket fire also places Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah among the list of top Arab militant leaders. He doesn’t just talk, he acts.

For now, Hezbollah is too sophisticated to claim responsibility for Thursday’s rocket fire. Elections in Lebanon are scheduled to take place in about six months, and Hezbollah does not want to be perceived as the party that once again disrupted the relative calm the country has experienced. The group does not want to risk its standing at the polls.

However, Nasrallah’s rhetoric from recent days says it all: “We are prepared for all Israeli aggression,” he said. In other words, Hezbollah won’t take responsibility for the rockets into Israel, but will claim credit for standing up against any Israeli retaliatory attacks, should there be any.

Nasrallah has already hinted that sources linked to Israel were responsible for the placement of rocket launchers discovered in Lebanon two weeks ago, not far from where rockets were fired from Thursday.

He also said that his operatives in south Lebanon are prepared to confront Israel and that any future war will make the Second Lebanon War look like a ‘walk in the park.’

Israel must now decide what the price tag will be for Thursday’s attacks on the north, knowing that a harsh response is likely to bring with it an escalation on the northern front and increasing international criticism.

Source: Haaretz

Filed under: Analysis, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Hezbollah, IAF, IDF, Israel, Katyusha Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

Gaza horrors sow seeds for future violence

On Sunday, Save the Children staff members delivered food parcels to 641 families — or nearly 6,000 people, including more than 3,000 children — in Gaza City, east Jabalyah, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Um Al Nasser. But the group said the continuous air assaults and ground fighting are making movement dangerous for needy families.

“The situation has reached a critical level for children who are exposed to and experiencing violence, fear and uncertainty,” said Annie Foster, Save the Children’s team leader for the emergency response in the region.

“Parents are facing enormous challenges to protecting and caring for their children. Either they cannot leave their house to attend to basic needs for fear of being caught in the crossfire — or they are being forced from their homes, into harm’s way, to find shelter.”

In the streets of Gaza, where Israeli ground forces are operating, and on the Israeli side, where Hamas rockets are being launched, the streets are empty. Even playgrounds for children are equipped with bunkers. Video Watch the latest on Hamas’ continued rocket threats »

Sirens wail on the Israeli side warning of Hamas rocket attacks. When asked what they think when they hear the sound, the children respond with only one word: “Fear.”

The threat of Hamas rockets in the south of Israel is taken so seriously that almost all the schools within rocket range of Gaza have locked their gates and told children not to come to school. According to the Israeli government, 300,000 students are affected.

Source: Nic Robertson CNN

Filed under: Analysis, Children, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Hezbollah, IAF, IDF, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

Israel to occupy all of the Gaza Strip?

The way events played out yesterday did not stir the political leadership into thinking of stopping the ground offensive and moving toward a cease-fire. On the contrary, Israel is moving toward a decision to occupy the whole Gaza Strip.

The message yesterday from Jerusalem was that it is impossible to end Operation Cast Lead without an achievement, and if in the next two days there is no satisfactory diplomatic solution, Israel will have to broaden the operation.

“Broadening the operation” could mean moving from house to house as in Operating Defensive Shield in 2002 in the West Bank, aiming to kill or capture as many Hamas fighters as possible. Or it could mean surrounding Gaza City, similar to the way the Egyptian Third Army was cut off in 1973, or like the siege of Beirut in 1982, until Hamas’ leaders emerge from their hideouts with their hands up. This could take several weeks.

Political sources are denying reports of a disagreement at the top over the future of the operation, and insist that Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni are united in their understanding that under the current circumstances Israel should continue until there are diplomatic gains. Other sources say there are problems. Barak believes that rejecting the French offer for a cease-fire last week was a mistake that made Israel miss a good opportunity to end the operation; now he wants to go on. Olmert, according to some reports, is pushing for a broadening of the offensive. Livni is worried that any international developments may grant Hamas legitimacy.

Source: By Aluf Benn Haaretz

Filed under: Analysis, Analysis, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Hezbollah, IAF, IDF, Israel, Operation Cast Lead, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War, World News

Pakistan: Now or Never?

According to the Washington Post, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates sees opportunities for the United States to cooperate with Russia on Afghanistan. The newspaper says Gates, a longtime Russia analyst during his years with the CIA, sees Moscow as less of a threat than do many inside and outside the U.S. military establishment. ”Russia is very worried about the drugs coming out of Afghanistan and has been supportive in terms of providing alternative routes for Europeans in particular to get equipment and supplies into Afghanistan,” it quoted him as saying.

The story is interesting in the context of the United States searching for new supply lines through Central Asia into Afghanistan as an alternative to Pakistan before it sends in thousands more troops.  “The plan to open new paths through Central Asia reflects an American-led effort to seek out a more reliable alternative to the route from Pakistan through the strategic Khyber Pass,” the New York Times said.

It quoted U.S. officials as saying that delicate negotiations were under way not only with the Central Asian states bordering Afghanistan but also with Russia, to work out the details of new supply routes. “The talks show the continued importance of American and NATO cooperation with the Kremlin, despite lingering tension over the war between Russia and Georgia in August.”

In an editorial, the International Herald Tribune picked up the same theme, saying that the passage from Pakistan, through the Khyber Pass, had become too dangerous. “Despite the tension in U.S.-Russian relations since the war in Georgia last August, Russian officials are saying openly that they share with NATO a strategic interest in helping protect Afghanistan from the Taliban. Toward that end, Russian and NATO representatives have been discussing the transport of NATO supplies to Afghanistan through Russia’s airspace.”

Source: By Myra MacDonald Reuters

Filed under: Analysis, India, Mumbai, Mumbai 26/11, Mumbai Terror Attacks, Pakistan, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal

Rockets from Lebanon hit Israel

Several rockets fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel on Thursday, slightly wounding two people, police and medics said, in an attack seen as linked to Israel’s war on Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip.

Initial fears that Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah guerrillas might have launched the attack dissipated after an Israeli cabinet minister pointed the finger at Palestinian groups.

Israel hit back with artillery shells in what an Israeli army spokesman called a “a pinpoint response.” The limited reaction appeared to signal a desire to avoid escalation.

There were no reports of casualties in Lebanon.

Two people were lightly wounded when terrorists in Lebanon fired three Katyusha rockets at the area of Nahariya in northern Israel on Thursday morning. The IDF returned fire.

One of the rockets went through the roof of a Nahariya retirement home and exploded in the kitchen as about 25 elderly residents were eating breakfast in the adjacent dining hall. One resident suffered a broken leg, another bruises, apparently from slipping on the floor after emergency sprinklers came on.

“The rocket entered through the roof, hurling the water heaters into the air. It went through bedrooms upstairs and then into the kitchen. There was a serious blast,” said Henry Carmelli, the home’s manager.

Source: Reuters/Jerusalem Post

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Hezbollah, IAF, IDF, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Katyusha Rockets, Lebanon, Middle East, News, Operation Cast Lead, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, War, World News

Arab media coverage of Gaza crisis

Viewers in the Arab world have been witnessing non-stop coverage of the conflict on satellite networks such as Al-Jazeera which show footage considered too graphic for broadcast.

While the Western media reported from outside Gaza, Arab television crews have been inside and many of the correspondents are themselves Gazans.

The grizzly images they have captured on film include mangled corpses, pools of blood in the streets and dead children held up for the camera by their grieving parents.

The images have been broadcast, often apparently uncensored, into the homes of millions of people across the region.

Al-Jazeera repeatedly showed an image of two dead children at a morgue as newsreaders read the hourly bulletin and interviewed guests.

Hamas has also given the station its own video footage of explosions and what appeared to be film of a sniper shooting an Israeli soldier in a tank.

Al-Jazeera, the most watched news channel in the Middle East, has long defended its objectivity and carries out interviews with Israeli spokespeople as part of its coverage of the crisis.

The Palestinian Authority’s own television station has been broadcasting footage of Israeli bombs landing in Gaza, while Hamas’s station has been showing interviews with people pulled from wreckage.

Israel has interrupted broadcasts from Hamas’s television and radio stations on several occasions during the offensive.

Thousands of gruesome images from Gaza have also been circulated around the Arab world on the internet.

Source: Telegraph/CNN

Filed under: MidEast, Al Jazeera, Arab Media, Egypt, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Israel, Operation Cast Lead, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War, World News

Heavy shelling continues as talks begin on Gaza truce

Heavy shelling was reported in Rafah on Wednesday night as the IDF stepped up its operations against weapons smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor.

The army had earlier dropped flyers on Rafah urging residents of the town living near the corridor to vacate the area.

“Because Hamas uses your houses to hide and smuggle military weapons, the IDF will attack the area, between the Egyptian border until the beach road,” the flyer said, according a local UN official. After the flyers were dropped, about 5,000 people fled to two UN schools turned into temporary shelters, the official said.

Also late on Wednesday night, Palestinians in Rafah reported that a house and a tunnel were targeted in an IAF air-strike, Israel Radio reported. But Sky News quoted Palestinians as saying the IAF had targeted a mosque, killing 15 people.

Tunnel openings are frequently hidden inside houses and Palestinians reported that by 9 p.m., 30 homes had been destroyed. According to Channel 10, the army said that anti-tunnel operations would continue through the night.

“We believe a ceasefire is necessary,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, adding that she was pressing Israel to move forward with an Egyptian proposal backed by Europeans.

Israel’s assault resumed fiercely after a first, brief pause to help Gaza’s 1.5 million people stock up on supplies.

But with both the outgoing administration of George W. Bush and the hitherto silent President-elect Barack Obama speaking out on the need for peace, officials said Israel had agreed with the “principles” of the Egyptian deal and would send an envoy to Cairo to discuss details of how it might be put into practice.

Source: Reuters/Jerusalem Post

Filed under: MidEast, Condoleezza Rice, Egypt, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Israel, News, Operation Cast Lead, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, War, World News