Hamas, Islamic Jihad Leaders Targets for Attack

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Yesterday, March 5th, Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of terrorist targets for early attacks as part of a sustained military offensive against escalated Palestinian attacks from Gaza on Israeli civilians.

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice reportedly gave a quiet approval for the operation during her visit to Jerusalem. Targets include senior officers of Hamas and Islamic JIhad, senior political figures in the Gaza Strip and Hamas and Islamic JIhad institutions.

These decisions were taken at the security cabinet’s first exhaustive review of Israel’s Gaza options.

Still under consideration is whether to demolish urban districts which are used to camouflage missile launching pads, after evacuating residents from those areas. A final decision on this aspect has yet to be reached.

The IDF is also deeply aware that these strikes will most likley let loose a stepped up Hamas Grad rocket barrage against Ashkelon or even points further north, such as Ashdod, both important Mediterranean port cities,and that Hamas will likely attempt suicide attacks inside Israel.

However, defense minister Barak is determined to deny Hamas the upper hand and to create a balance of deterrent with Israel. Therefore, the Israeli operation will persist even under heavy Hamas assaults.

In any case, the Palestinians launched a fresh onslaught on the heels of Rice’s departure after her talks with Palestinian and Israel leaders.

Five Katyusha rockets fired from Gaza at Ashkelon exploded on empty ground south of the city; four Qassam missiles were aimed at as Sderot and the Eshkol farming region, raising the total from Wednesday morning to eight.

Our military sources believe that the five rockets were deliberately aimed to explode harmlessly as a warning from Hamas of the violence in store if Israeli goes ahead with more military offensives. Military experts informed the cabinet that this was further proof that Hamas is now capable of precise targeting against specific locations.

Re-posted with permission from www.lekarev.org.