Operation Pillar Of Defense UPDATED

By Findalis

Is the name of the latest operation against Hamas in Gaza.  This last weekend saw over 150 rockets fired at cities and towns in Southern Israel.  Many of them fired at the time that children were leaving school for the day.  It was a miracle that nobody was killed.  Add to the rocket attack an attack on a military vehicle that has left a soldier in critical condition, it was no wonder that Israel has lost her patience and has gone on the attack.

The IAF fired a missile at a car in Gaza Wednesday, killing the commander of Hamas's "military" terror wing, Ahmed Jaabari. Israel's TV Channel 2 says his son was also killed.

There are reports that Raed al-Atar, Commander of Hamas's southern division, has also been killed.

Hamas responded by saying that it was now in a state of "open war" with Israel with no date set for its end.

The IAF reportedly also struck targets in Khan Younes and Rafiah. Channel 2 said that the IAF has been striking launch silos for Hamas's longer-range Fajr rockets, which can hit central Israel, in order to preclude their use. About 20 reinforced silos holding Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 silos were reportedly hit.

Nine people have been killed in Gaza, according to reports.

The IDF has begun a wide scale operation, which has been named "Amud Anan," a phrase that refers to the column-shaped cloud that led the Israelites in Sinai during the Exodus from Egypt. The official English name is Pillar of Defense.

Terror missiles have reportedly been fired at Sderot and Ashkelon. There have been no reports of casualties.

Egypt's response to the events is not yet known. Hamas is saying that the "new Egypt" under Mohammed Morsi must withdraw from the Camp David accords with Israel and expel Israel's ambassador in Cairo.

Among other exploits, Ahmed Jaabari, 52, was personally responsible for the abduction and holding of IDF Sgt. Gilad Shalit. Raed al-Atar was in charge of Hamas's smuggling tunnels. He was released from jail in Israeli in 1995.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak appear to have purposely diverted attention away from Gaza by visiting northern Israel and publicly discussing the Syrian threat Wednesday, in order to make it easier to catch the Hamas off guard.

The IDF Spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, announced on his Facebook page that "A harsh blow has landed upon Hamas's command and control array, as the IDF hit Ahmed Jaabari, the head of the military wing of Hamas in Gaza, who headed the organization and dealt directly with carrying out terror attacks against Israel.

"We are at the beginning of a wide scale attack, in view of the unbearable situation of the residents of the South," he added.

"While we are not talking about conquering all of Gaza," Mordechai told Channel 2, "there is preparation for a ground operation as well, which will be undertaken if it is necessary. The required military units that need to be diverted for such an operation are at the ready," he said.

"The occupation has opened the gates of hell on itself," said a statement from Hamas's Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which vowed its terrorists would "continue the path of resistance."

The United States is closely watching developments in Gaza following the killing Wednesday of Hamas' military chief in an Israeli air strike, a Pentagon spokesman said.

"We're monitoring the situation closely. We stand by our Israeli partners in their right to defend themselves against terrorism," Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Warren said.

President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon, met Monday with his Israeli counterpart, Yaakov Amidror, at the White House.

Source

I just hope that this time they are not stopped by Obama's inaugural in order to give him a peaceful day and will do what it takes to secure the South.

UPDATED: Video of the actual hit from the IDF

80 Rockets, Shells Fired From Gaza And The World Is Silent On The Barrage!

By Findalis

Why not?  After all the victims are Jews not Arabs.  After all to the UN, the Lame Stream Media, the State Department, only Arabs can be victims.  Jews are never to be considered victims no matter how many rockets are fired, how many babies are murdered.

New salvos hit the south Wednesday afternoon; school canceled for the day; residents ordered to stay close to ‘secure rooms’; three foreign workers hurt in morning hit on chicken coop.

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza continued their rocket assault on Israel Wednesday afternoon after a three-hour pause in the attacks, which have seen dozens of missiles target the south in the past two days. More than 80 rockets and shells had been fired into Israel Wednesday by late afternoon.

Israeli leaders warned of a much intensified military response if the attacks continued. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of “a more extensive” response. Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the army was ready for “a far, far greater and wider response.” Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Israel would not maintain its restraint for many more days, and that Israel was “facing a serious escalation.”

A salvo of eight rockets fell on Hof Ashkelon just after midday, shattering the quiet that had descended for a few hours after a series of rocket attacks in the morning. Another two projectiles were fired at the Hevel Eshkol area. In late afternoon, another missile strike was recorded. There were no reports of injury or damage in the latest attacks.

Three foreign workers were injured, two of them seriously, in Wednesday morning attacks when a rocket hit the chicken coop they were working in, and several houses were damaged by other missiles. At least two other people were reported lightly injured in the strikes. Some of those hurt in the attacks were flown by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

School was cancelled in areas close to Gaza on Wednesday, and residents were told to remain within 15 seconds of “secure rooms” in case of further attacks.

Netanyahu, on a tour of the Iron Dome missile defense facility near the coastal town of Ashkelon, said, “It was not Israel that initiated this escalation, but if it goes on we are prepared to take far more extensive action.” Those who fire on Israel, he said, should know that “they have sealed their own fate.”

He also promised to fortify every building in communities 4.5 to 7 kilometers from the Strip, where until now only educational facilities had been protected.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, speaking to Army Radio, said, “There are about 1,700 households that need fortification, but that said, the situation was a lot more difficult in the past because there was no Iron Dome.”

On Wednesday morning, Iron Dome intercepted seven Grads fired at Ashkelon. In the afternoon the system stopped another missile fired at the city.

France sharply condemned the rocket fire on Israel, urging restraint from both sides.

Since Tuesday afternoon Palestinian terror groups in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel. The incoming missiles were a mix of Gaza-produced Kassam missiles and military-grade Grad rockets that have a longer range and larger warhead.

The IDF has responded to the barrages by targeting terror cells and Hamas installations in the Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians were killed in overnight airstrikes.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz called a meeting Tuesday to assess the situation and toured some of the sites that were hit in attacks.

Barak said he could not rule out a ground invasion if fire continued. “If we need a ground operation there will be a ground operation. We will do whatever necessary to stop this wave” of violence, he told Army Radio on Wednesday.

“It’s important for the government to think before it decides. This move will bring escalation and not peace — there is no way to reconcile with the terror from Gaza. We are considering everything we need and examining everything. If there will be no choice and the fire continues, they will be struck hard, nothing is impossible,” he said.

Liberman said Israel was facing “a serious escalation” in the south. Speaking before a meeting with visiting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, he said the situation was “unacceptable” and that Israel would “not suffer” the ongoing rocket fire for much longer.

Source

I wonder if France would be as accommodating if it were their cities being bombed, their people being killed.  Oops, I forgot, they were when Germans were doing it.

I also wonder how long will Israel go until they send in ground troops to finish the job they started in Operation Cast Lead.  An operation they stopped to be nice to Barack Hussein Obama and not have riots at his inauguration.  Bad move.

Pray for the people of Israel under constant barrage from Gaza.  And if you can, throw a few dollars, Euros, etc... to the people of the Sderot Media Center.  Serving the people of Sderot and Southern Israel for over a decade.  Just click here.