Hamas Breaks Ceasefire -Missiles Fired At Tel Aviv , Aimed At Airport

In the midst of rumors about an extended ceasefire and a long term truce agreement, Hamas decided to break the ceasefire (this is truce violation #8) and launch missiles at Israel.

It started with three Grad rockets fired from the Gaza Strip fell near Be'er Sheva and Netivot on Tuesday afternoon around 2PM, a full 8 hours before the current truce was supposed to expire. The IDF responded by hitting different targets in the Gaza Strip in retaliation.

Hamas responded with a barrage of forty rockets fired last night at about 10:40 PM local time, and they included heavyweight items like M-75 and Fajr-5 missiles and a J-80 missile fired at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Yes, at a civilian airport. Can you say 'w-a-r  c-r-i-m-e? ' I'm sure you can, unless you work at the UN, the EU or the U.S. State Department.

There were explosions reported in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and Code Red sirens were heard throughout southern and central Israel. Hamas also admitted firing an m-75 at Jerusalem.

One missile was intercepted by Iron Dome over central Israel and another fell in an open area. Two more were intercepted over Sderot, two over Be'er Sheva, two over Kiryat Malachi, and three over Ashkelon.

Rockets were also fired at Netivot and the Sdot Negev area.

Want to laugh? Even though Hamas's armed wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam claimed responsibility for the missile barrage, Hamas spokeshole Sami Abu Zuhri claimed - wait for it - that Hamas had no knowledge of any missiles being fired, even though they were launched from inside central Gaza City!



And just think, yesterday, the headlines were all about a new 24 hour ceasefire extension to discuss a long term truce.I could be wrong, but even the likes of John Kerry and Barack Obama have to see what a losing proposition this is.

The Israelis seem to have wised up finally, pulled out of 'negotiations' and brought their delegation home from Cairo. After all, how can you make peace with someone who's entire aim in life is to exterminate you? The only kind of truce possible with the likes of Hamas is a hudna that will only last until they're ready to attack again. Why bother?

It's time to finish this. In the end, it will cost far less in Israeli and Palestinian lives That's especially true if Israel avoids the temptation of giving Gaza back to the Palestinian Authority, the slightly more moderate version of Hamas, but an entity who has the same ultimate goal - driving the Jews into the sea.

Have UNRWA do something useful for once. Publicly warn them and have them bring as many of the civilian population as Hamas will allow to leave out of Gaza City and set up camps in the open areas (and yes, there's a lot of open area in Gaza). Or let them take the civilian population to the other camps they run in Area A.

Then let the Lion of Judah loose. Let the Army win. Destroy Hamas utterly, annex Gaza, and repopulate it with Jews.




Selah.

Hamas Violates Ceasefire - Again

Hamas fired rockets from northern Gaza into Israel 2 hours before the cease fire was supposed to end. One rocket struck open territory in the Sha'ar Hanegev area and exploded without causing injuries or damage. Another was launched at the Ashkelon area.

This will be the seventh cease fire Hamas has violated.

A Hamas spokesperson, Sami Abu Zuhri said Hamas "denies there was any rocket fire at the occupation this evening".

Since the rockets didn't appear by magic, either Hamas is lying or they don't have complete control over their forces. If either is true, there's no sense in Israel making any kind of deal with them at this point.

The Hamas/Fatah delegation was supposed to give a press conference at 9:30 p.m. to reply to the Egyptian proposal to extend the truce by another 72 hours. That press conference has now been postponed.

Hamas sources are reporting that instead, the Palestinian delegation is preparing to leave Cairo. The Israelis left earlier in the evening.

Hamas is insisting that all its demands be met in order for any long term cease fire to be put in place. They want the Egyptian/Israeli blockade lifted, an airport and seaport to be constructed, the Egyptians replaced as mediators with someone more Hamas friendly, the crossings between Egypt,Israel and Gaza opened with the Palestinian Authority in control and a number of Hamas terrorists released from Israeli jails. They are offering no concessions in return.

Neither Egypt or Israel is prepared to fully open the borders and allow Hamas to simply rebuild its terrorist structure and re-arm.

 

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Hamas’ Aqsa TV station that “The sacrifices of our people don’t allow for compromises on the rights and demands of the Palestinians.”
He expressed support for the Palestinian team in Cairo and urged its members not to “succumb to blackmail.”

Israel has reacted to the breach of the ceasefire by moving more troops into position.

 

Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyau received a call from President Barack Obama today, reportedly pressuring him to make a deal with Hamas that would end the fighting, even if it was just an extension of the short term truce. That phone call was made before Hamas broke the ceasefire.

There was an announcement by Egypt before the rockets were fired that the two sides had agreed to extend the ceasefire for another 72 hours,apparently what President Obama was pushing for.  We'll see how things go.

Hamas Violates The Ceasefire - Again

Hamas has begun shooting rockets again at Israel, violating the ceasefire that was supposed to continue until 8 AM tomorrow local time.

Rockets fired from Gaza hit the Eshkol region of Israel at 4:00 AM local time, about an hour ago.

Israel indicated on Wednesday it was prepared to extend the ceasefire, something  Egyptian mediators were pushing for  but Hamas was rejected it, saying they would "resume fighting immediately at the end of the 72-hour ceasefire, at 8:00 am Friday."

Of course the scum didn't actually wait that long to start hostilities. To date, they have violated every ceasefire.

 

The Israelis with the help of the Egyptians had pulled off a major diplomatic tour de force that provoked a split between Hamas and Fatah, shut down Hamas's demands and even stymied the terrorist group's 'lawyers', the Obama Administration.

Abu Ubeida, the spokesperson of Hamas's military wing pictured above demanded that Fatah and the Palestinian Authority reject the truce and join them in hostilities unless all of Hamas's demands were met, which included the release of all Hamas terrorists incarcerated by Israel, construction of a seaport and lifting the Egyptian/Israeli blockade so they can import weapons.None of that is going to happen.

"We urge the Palestinian delegation negotiating not to renew the truce except after the acceptance in principle, particularly to the port (opening), and if there is no acceptance then we ask the delegation to withdraw from talks." Abu Ubeida made the statement aired on the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera news network.

Abu Ubeida also said that Hamas would destroy the IDF if it tried to reenter Gaza and said Hamas would target Israel's air and sea ports in a bid to hit Israel economically, as if they haven't tried their best to do so already.

It's on...stay tuned. And watch the north and Hezbollah.

Yet Another 'Humanitarian Ceasefire' Announced

 

John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon have announced yet another humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to start at 8 am on Friday morning, for 72 hours.

"We urge all parties to act with restraint until this humanitarian ceasefire begins, and to fully abide by their commitments during the ceasefire," Kerry and Ban said. "This ceasefire is critical to giving innocent civilians a much-needed reprieve from violence.

"Israeli and Palestinian delegations will immediately be going to Cairo for negotiations with the Government of Egypt, at the invitation of Egypt, aimed at reaching a durable ceasefire. The parties will be able to raise all issues of concern in these negotiations."

As al-Reuters reported, Hamas has signed on. "Acknowledging a call by the United Nations and in consideration of the situation of our people, resistance factions agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian and mutual calm that begins at 8 a.m (0500 GMT) on Friday as long as the other side abides by it," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri was quoted as saying.

Hamas was forced to capitulate on something they had remained adamant about up to now, their insistence on Israeli troops being removed from Gaza and the lifting of the Israeli/Egyptian blockade. Neither of those is going to happen. Apparently Hamas, which has lost a great deal of its terrorist infrastructure and hundreds of fighters is hurting much more than they would have us believe.Hamas may actually honor this cease fire, at least until they regroup.

 

While Kerry and Ban Ki-Moon are touting this as the beginnings of negotiations on a more "durable truce", I wouldn't bet on it. Israel has said in no uncertain terms that it will continue to destroy the Hamas tunnels, regardless of any deal that might be reached, and Israel  is still insisting on Gaza being demilitarized.

Those demands are pretty much set in stone, and don't expect the Israelis to rely on the 'international community' to do the job without Israeli oversight. As I pointed out earlier, Israel has learned by experience how trustworthy entities like the UN are when it comes to disarming terrorist groups.

 

The Palestinian Authority's role here is very illuminating in destroying the fiction that Fatah and Hamas aren't working hand in glove together.

Fatah had orchestrated violent riots in Judea and Samaria as well as in Israel in support for Hamas and was also the head of the snake in pursuing lawfare and the diplomatic war against Israel. Abbas and Fatah were backing Hamas's ceasefire demands before they would show up in Cairo, to which the Egyptians responded 'fine, don't bother coming.'

Fatah, while they are still supporting Hamas's demands publicly managed to get Hamas to agree to put those demands aside right now in order to get negotiations started in Cairo.

The Palestinian delegation that's going to Cairo will include members of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and will reportedly be headed by Mahmoud Abbas.

What Abbas is hoping for here is to once again have the Palestinian Authority control Gaza, or at least the crossings on the Egyptian side so that they can thwart the blockade.

Kerry and Ban also are reportedly enlisting Hamas supporters Qatar and Turkey as intermediaries...so let's just say I'm skeptical of anything more than another humanitarian ceasefire coming out of this.It strikes me more as Kerry and the Obama Team pulling out all the stops to rescue Hamas.

Hamas will never cease trying to destroy Israel or give up its tunnels and its missiles voluntarily. And Israel can't afford to let them keep them.

Hamas And Israel Agree To A 12 Hour Ceasefire

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry's attempt to broker a long term truce ended in failure as neither Israel nor Hamas was interested.Israel's security committee unanimously rejected Kerry's proposition, especially when they saw he had changed the original Egyptian formula to favor some of Hamas' inane demands.

Kerry is now attempting to bypass the Egyptians and use Hamas funder Qatar and Islamist Turkey as his intermediaries. Good luck with that where the Israelis are concerned.

The 'humanitarian' ceasefire is ostensibly supposed to be about removing Hamas casualties and allowing humanitarian aid to be brought in. As the Israelis and any other honest person knows, any aid that comes in will go to the Hamas leaders and the fighters rather to the general Gaza population, but they still agreed to go through with it, starting at 8 Am Saturday local time.

You will notice that no one is proposing any humanitarian aid for the Israeli civilian population, some of whom are injured and homeless.Apparently, they don't count for much in the eyes of the 'international community.'

The Israelis insisted on the following conditions. Their forces will stay in position in Gaza, and that they they will continue to locate Hamas' tunnels, although they will not destroy them until the ceasefire is over, or unless Hamas violates this ceasefire as they have all the others.

 

What Kerry and the odious UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon wanted was a 7 day truce to carry out what amounts to talks about talks, while Hamas regroups. I doubt the Israelis will agree to that, but we'll see.

One sign that they won't  came from  Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who along with other Israeli military leaders is briefing the troops to be ready for what he called  a significantly expanded ground assault in Gaza,

The next step,of course is Shifa Hospital in central Gaza, home of the main Hamas command post and it's weapons depots, and the terminus of the huge network of tunnels.The head of the IDF’s Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Sami Torjeman said in an interview Friday that, in a week, the army had managed to destroy half of the tunnel network which took Hamas 4-5 years to build, a major accomplishment but without cutting the head off the snake, it will just be a temporary respite.

Hamas is particularly vulnerable right now. Much to their surprise, the advanced Russian Kornet-E, and 9M113 Konkurs guided anti-tank missiles Hamas received from Iran have so far proven to be worthless against Israel's new Merkava Chariot-4 battle tanks equipped with the Israel's Windbreaker armor. The 401st armored brigade equipped with these tanks has been virtually unstoppable. Like the IronDome, the Windbreaker armor missile defense system is made by Israeli defense company Rafael. If the assault on Shifa happens, it may very well be spearheaded the 401st and its Chariot-4s.

 

Stay tuned..

The Ceasefire That Never Was Ends As Hamas Bombards Israel With Rockets

 The Egyptian brokered ceasefire Israel honored but Hamas did not is where it belongs, in the trash. It was supposed to have been in effect as of 9 AM Israeli time, and Israel held its fire for six hours while Hamas fired barrage after barrage at Israel, at one point targeting Israel with over 50 rockets in the space of one hour.

So Israel has resumed air strikes.

 

The entire idea of a ceasefire with Hamas was a huge mistake as I pointed out yesterday. Fortunately for Israel, Hamas is rescued Bibi Netanyahu and the members of the security cabinet who voted for it by refusing to accept it.

A bevy of Egyptian talk show hosts commented in colorful fashion:



(Todah Rabah to Simply Jews for the clips)

At this point, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, the only ministers who voted not to accept the ceasefire, are looking a lot more attuned to reality than those who voted for it. Lieberman is now calling for the ground operation to get under way and for Israel to retake Gaza...something the Army largely agrees with, by the way, to make sure the tunnels are taken out properly if nothing else. So do I.

Let the Army win. Every indication is that they're frustrated at the delays and ready to move.



Israel can then arrest or kill the Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, take away their weaponry,  and finish this once and for all.Hamas cannot be left with their weaponry as a threat in Gaza.In fact, Israel needs to annex it as part of a complete, unilateral redrawing of its borders and a total separation from  the Arabs who identify themselves as Palestinians.Let them have a state in part of Area A, and be done with it. And let Mahmoud Abbas know that any acts of aggression, including lawfare will have severe consequences.

It's time it was acknowledged that those of us who opposed the disengagement and saw the ripping away of 8,000 Jews from their homes as a huge error were entirely correct about that. Everything we predicted has come to pass, and all Israel has paid the price for that immoral act.

(Crossposted at the Times of Israel)

Hamas Rejects Proposed Egyptian Ceasefire; Rockets Hit Eilat, Ashkelon

 

While Israel accepted the ceasefire proposed by Egypt, Hamas has rejected it :

Hamas rejected Egypt’s proposed ceasefire in Gaza on Monday night, as Arab foreign ministers in Cairo called on "all parties" to accept the proposal.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the group would not accept a truce without a fully-fledged deal to end hostilities, according to AFP.

"A ceasefire without reaching an agreement is rejected. In times of war, you don't cease fire and then negotiate," he told the news agency.

Barhoum added Hamas had not received any official proposal and that "the weapons of the resistance are a red line."

Earlier Monday night, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the group would not agree to any ceasefire that does not “meet the demands of the Palestinian people.”

“Today we are facing an important stage in the conflict with the Israeli occupation. Years of a blockade did not prevent our resistance from taking all possible measures to protect the Palestinian people,” he added.

“The Zionist enemy forced the war on us and planned it. Today we are fulfilling our duty to protect our people and our honor," declared Haniyeh.

Meanwhile, the Arab foreign ministers said in a statement they "demand all parties concerned accept the Egyptian initiative" and commit to its terms.

 


The armed wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades likewise rejected the proposed ceasefire:

As the security cabinet (ed. note - meaning Israel's) started discussing the Egyptian ceasefire initiative on Tuesday morning, Hamas' armed wing rejected the initiative completely, saying it was "a surrender" to Israel

"If the offer is what was reported, then this is surrender. We'll intensity our fight against the enemy," the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

Hamas spokesman Fauzi Barhum said that the Egyptian ceasefire offer was unacceptable.

"A ceasefire without an agreement is out of the question. During a war, you don't hold your fire and only then start negotiating," he said.

Hamas political bureau member Ezzat Rishq claimed that the Egyptian initiative was not discussed with Hamas, Islamic Jihad or one of the other factions in the Strip.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan added the Egyptian initiative was a "joke."

"We did not receive this declared paper from the Egyptians ... which means it's an initiative for the media. It's not a political initiative," he told CNN.

The initiative was meant to "push the Palestinians into a corner and aid the Israelis."

This is an example of the spin Hamas and its groupies will use if there is a ceasefire to claim 'victory' over Israel, as I mentioned earlier.

The ceasefire, if both sides had approved it was due to start at 9 Am Israeli time. It's 9:20 AM there now, and as I mentioned, rockets just hit Eilat, blew up a parked car and injured several people. It remains to be seen if Netanyahu is willing to sit back and impose the non-existent ceasefire on the IDF for awhile. Rockets were also fired at Ashkelon.

As I expected, only Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Economic Minister Naftali Bennett voted against the proposed ceasefire. They deserve a great deal of credit for seeing things as they are.

Now there's no need now to discuss a ceasefire any further. Hamas just did Israel a huge favor and the people it rules a major disservice. Time to get the ground assault  going and finish Hamas off.

A Ceasefire In Gaza? A Huge Mistake

News has surfaced of a proposal by the Egyptians to broker a ceasefire to end hostilities between Israel and Hamas. There are times when a ceasefire is advantageous. From Israel's standpoint, a ceasefire now is a strategic mistake of major proportions.

Essentially, the Egyptian proposal returns the status quo to the same place it was after Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, AKA 'Quiet for Quiet'. It also includes a provision for Egypt is to convene with representatives of both Israel and Hamas separately or further negotiations 48 hours after the cease fire goes into effect. Even more ominously, there is a provision for a reopening of the border crossings on the Egyptian side, under Egyptian and Palestinian Authority control.



Does anyone trust forces belong to the Palestinian Authority to carry something like this out after their forces joined Hamas in firing rockets at Israel? After the attacks and riots carried out at the Palestinian Authority's orders in Israel?

That isn't the worst reason for Israel to engage in a ceasefire now.

Much has been made in certain quarters about Hamas' 'humiliation' at having none of its demands met. Don't believe it. Hamas and its groupies will spin this in a Tel Aviv minute. It will be Hamas who stood up to the Jews and whose rocket attacks caused Israel to beg for a ceasefire, Israel who was humiliated into leaving Hamas intact and in control of Gaza.

And that still isn't the worst reason  for Israel to engage in a ceasefire with Hamas at this time.

Hamas has never kept a ceasefire. They regard these intervals as a time to regroup, refurbish their arsenals and get ready for the next attempt at killing as many Israelis as they possibly can.And each time, their military capabilities increase. In their latest assault, for the first Hamas was able to reach central Israel. Israelis in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv finally have at least a clue as to what Israelis living in Sderot and the South have had to put up with since the Disengagement. Hamas not only revealed weaponized drones it received from Iran, but for the first time Hamas targeted Dimona, where Israel's nuclear facility is reportedly located. Had they been successful, the casualties would have been catastrophic..a real attempt at genocide as opposed to what Mahmoud Abbas is braying about, something inadvertently amusing from such a long time Holocaust denier.

This time, they failed. Is Israel willing to gamble on letting them have another try, after they've had time to increase their arsenal? Are the members of Israel's government now salivating to approve a ceasefire prepared to take the blame if there is a major strike by Hamas on Israel with multiple casualties in the near future, with Hamas perhaps shielded from retaliation by a nuclear armed Iran?

The only ceasefire Israel should approve should have two conditions; the complete demilitarization of Hamas supervised by the IDF and a demand that the 'international community', so unconcerned about the attacks directed at Israel for months and so exercised about Israel defending itself withdraw recognition and support of the Hamas-Fatah government.

Since that's unlikely to happen, Israel has ample grounds to reject what amounts to a respite for the genocidal Hamas in their quest to murder Jews. They need to be defeated utterly. It will not be easy or without cost, but Hamas cannot be left with a secure base in Gaza to continue attacking Israel.



Anything less will simply set the stage for the next round, when Hamas may be stronger and conditions on the ground may not be anywhere near as favorable, with an Egyptian government hostile to Hamas and the West and the UN preoccupied with Iran and Iraq and Hezbollah enmeshed in Syria.

Real peace comes from victory. And there is no such thing as peace or accommodation with Amalek, or its latest incarnation.

Cross posted at the Times of Israel.