The strength, sophistication and timing of the Saturday morning attack shocked Israelis as Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing the Mediterranean territory, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast.
As the carnage continues to unfold, a question needs to be asked regarding how any of this could have happened in the first place. What happened to the IDF? Did someone issue the order to stand down? Did someone turn all the monitors off so as to allow scores of Palestinian terrorists from Hamas to have free and unfettered access to cross the border? Someone please tell me what happened here because something surely happened. Can this war be won without triggering WWIII?
“(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:” Romans 11:8,9 (KJB)
Having now failed to stop or even slow down the attack, Netanyahu has no choice but to order an immediate ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Will Lebanon, Iran, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt sit idly by as it all unfolds? They might, but not likely. The death toll of Israelis is nearing 400, but that should increase to over 1,000 by the end of the weekend. The number of seriously injured in the thousands. Netanyahu said during a televised address tonight that he vowed victory, but at the same time ‘the price of that victory is too heavy to bear. This is a very difficult day for all of us.’ A ‘difficult day’ in Israel is 2 or 3 civilians killed, this is a catastrophe. A line was crossed in Israel today, a line whose opposite end is firmly anchored in the words of the prophets. If it’s the LORD who allowed this, then all bets are off.
Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Backed by a barrage of rockets, dozens of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. A stunned Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, with its prime minister saying the country is now at war with Hamas and vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.”
In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Gaza border. In some places, they roamed for hours, gunning down civilians and soldiers as Israel’s military scrambled to muster a response. Gunbattles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns.
Israel’s national rescue service said at least 200 people were killed and 1,100 wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in decades. At least 198 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and at least 1,610 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Hamas fighters took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza, a deeply sensitive issue for Israel.
The conflict threatened to escalate to an even deadlier stage with Israel’s vows of greater retaliation. Previous conflicts between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers brought widespread death and destruction in Gaza and days of rocket fire on Israeli towns. The situation is potentially more volatile now, with Israel’s far-right government stung by the security breach and with Palestinians in despair over a never-ending occupation in the West Bank and suffocating blockade of Gaza.
In a televised address Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military will use all of its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities but the war will “take time.”
“We will defeat them … and take revenge for this black day,” he said.
After nightfall, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza intensified, flattening several residential buildings in giant explosions, including a 14-story tower that held dozens of apartments as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City. Israeli forces fired a warning just before, and there were no reports of casualties. Soon after, a Hamas rocket barrage into central Israel hit four cities, including Tel Aviv and a nearby suburb, where two people were seriously injured. Throughout the day, Hamas fired more than 3,500 rockets, the Israeli military said.
The strength, sophistication and timing of the Saturday morning attack shocked Israelis. Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing the Mediterranean territory, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast.
In some towns, a trail of civilians’ bodies lay where they had encountered the advancing gunmen. On the road outside the town of Sderot, a bloodied woman slumped dead in the seat of her car. At least nine people gunned down at a bus shelter in the town were laid out on stretchers on the street, their bags still on the curb nearby. One woman, screaming, embraced the body of a family member sprawled under a sheet next to a toppled motorcycle; as she was led away, she picked up the dead person’s helmet from the ground nearby. READ MORE
Are We Watching The Start Of WWIII?
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The post Why Was Netanyahu And Israel Caught By Surprise With Hamas Attack, And Can They Fight Their Way Out Of It Without Triggering World War 3? appeared first on Now The End Begins.