2ND Missile hits Ashkelon..Israelis move further into Gaza

A second qassam missile hit the Israeli city of Ashkelon today, leading the Israelis to mull over the creation of a security zone in the Gaza Strip...which would involve re-occupying soem of the territory Israel gave up a few months ago as a `sacrifice for peace'.

The Israeli cabinet has ordered a slight `widening' of the Gaza offensive.

This is pretty much a stopgap measure so far. To seriously dent the missile threat, IDF units would need to penetrate the densely populated Beit Lahiya in the north, something that would involve severe casualties for the Palestinians and Jenin style house to house fighting for the Israelis...unless theydid the sensible thing and leafletted the area telling civilians to leave, followed by an IAF style carpet bombing

It remains to be seen whether the Olmert government has the will to end the Palestinian threat and win this war.

And the longer that decision is delayed, the more costly it will be.

In a seperate item, it appears that some reporters from al-Jazeera sustained some injuries when their car was hit by an IDF tank shell. This should only improve their reporting.

It's ONE thing to cheerlead for jihad, but quite another to actually shed a little blood for it. I'm sure Mohammed would approve...