Hamas militant chief killed in Israeli airstrikes
Columns of smoke rise following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City Nov. 14, 2012. / AP Photo
Updated at 5:52 p.m. ET
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Israel carried out a blistering offensive of more than 20 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, assassinating Hamas' military commander and targeting the armed group's training facilities and rocket launchers in Israel's most intense attack on the territory in nearly four years.
Israel said the airstrikes, launched in response to days of rocket fire out of Hamas-ruled Gaza, were the beginning of a broader operation against the Islamic militants codenamed "Pillar of Defense." Israeli defense officials said a ground operation was a strong possibility in the coming days though they stressed no decisions had been made and much would depend on Hamas' reaction. There were no immediate signs of extraordinary troop deployments along the border.
Gaza's health minister said 10 people were killed — two of them young children — while the Israeli military said its attack was just the beginning of a major offensive and warned it could escalate with a ground attack.
More than 65 rockets landed in southern Israel late Wednesday. One projectile struck a shopping mall in the southern city of Beersheba, causing heavy damage but no casualties, police said.
The Israeli military said 25 rockets were intercepted by the "Iron Dome" rocket-defense system. Israeli media said the rockets had been headed toward Beersheba. Israeli aircraft continued to pound Gaza into the night with some 50 airstrikes, with no reports of casualties.
In a nationwide address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel could no longer stand repeated attacks on its southern towns. Days of rocket fire have heavily disrupted life for some 1 million people in the region, canceling school and forcing residents to remain indoors.
"If there is a need, the military is prepared to expand the operation. We will continue to do everything to protect our citizens," Netanyahu declared.
All options are on the table. If necessary, the IDF is ready to initiate a ground operation in Gaza.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 14, 2012
The killing of Ahmad Jabari marked a dramatic resumption of Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian militant leaders. He was the most senior Hamas official to be killed since the last war in Gaza ended in early 2009. He has long topped Israel's most-wanted list, blamed for a string of deadly attacks, including the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in 2006.
The offensive followed a weekend exchange of rocket fire from Gaza on southern Israel and Israeli airstrikes. Seven Palestinians were killed and several Israelis were wounded.
The military said its aircraft targeted more than 20 facilities that served as storage or launching sites for rockets. Among the weapons destroyed were rockets that could hit as far as 25 miles into Israel.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the operation in Gaza was far from over and that airstrikes had already inflicted heavy damage, taking out most of Hamas' long-range missile capabilities.
Hamas' military wing responded to the strike on Jabari by saying Israel "has opened the gates of hell," the Reuters news agency reports. Israeli communities near the Gaza border were bracing for retaliation, CBS Radio News correspondent Robert Berger reports from Jerusalem.
Plumes of black smoke wafted into Gaza City's skies following at least five airstrikes there. Sirens blared as people ran in panic in the streets and militants fired angrily into the air. Hamas police cordoned off the area around a hospital where at least one body from the strike was taken. It was draped in a white sheet, with a burnt leg poking out.
Gaza Health Minister Dr. Mufeed Mkhallalati said a total of 10 people were killed, including Jabari, and 45 wounded, 10 of them in critical condition. Among the dead were three civilians, including an 11-month-old and a 6-year-old.
Palestinians called for harsh retaliation. Hamas, which rules Gaza, announced a state of emergency in the territory. It evacuated all its security buildings.
Outside the hospital where Jabari's body was taken, Hamas official Khalil al-Haya eulogized the commander and threatened Israel.
"The battle between us and the occupation is open and it will end only with the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem," he said.
Thousands of angry Gazans chanted "Retaliation" and "We want you to hit Tel Aviv tonight." Otherwise, the streets of Gaza were empty as residents feared further attacks, the sounds of Israeli aircraft hovering overhead.
Watch: Israeli Defense Forces pinpoint strike on Hamas leader
Witnesses said Jabari was traveling in a vehicle in Gaza City when the car exploded. Crowds of people and security personnel rushed to the scene of the strike, trying to put out the fire that had engulfed the car and left it a charred shell. The Israeli military released a grainy, black-and-white video of the airstrike. It shows a sedan moving slowly along a road before exploding in a powerful blast that sent a large piece of the car flying into the air.
Fearing a long war in Gaza, Palestinians rushed to buy fuel, bread and other food supplies.
"We are working under fire to protect our people and to back the resistance," said Islam Shahwan, a Hamas interior ministry spokesman. "We have a full emergency plan that we are adopting now."
Israel's chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, said "at this stage" there are no plans for a ground offensive. "We're focusing on an air operation," he said. The military said the assassination was just the beginning of an operation codenamed "Pillar of Defense."
"After a couple of days on ongoing rocket attacks toward Israeli civilians, the (Israeli military) chief of staff has authorized to open an operation against terror targets in the Gaza Strip," military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovitch said.
She said Jabari had "a lot of blood of his hands" and that the military chief "authorized different targets" as well.
Advocates say targeted killings are an effective deterrent without the complications associated with a ground operation, chiefly civilian and Israeli troop casualties. Proponents argue they also prevent future attacks by removing their masterminds.
Critics say the killings invite retaliation by militants and encourage them to try to assassinate Israeli leaders. They complain that the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings.
Dovish Israeli lawmaker Dov Hanin condemned the killing.
"Assassinating leaders is never the solution. In place of the leaders killed, other will grow, and we will only get another cycle of fire and blood," he said.
During a wave of suicide bombings against Israel a decade ago, the country employed the tactic to eliminate the upper echelon of Hamas leadership. During that period, Israeli aircraft assassinated the previous commander of Hamas' military wing, Salah Shehadeh, the movement's founder and spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, and dozens of other Hamas military commanders.
That set off a wave of criticism from rights groups and foreign governments, particularly the strike that killed Shehadeh — a one-ton bomb that killed 14 other people, most of them children.
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Hamas = Pasdaran = Hezbollah.... clear enough? Got smart bombs & Sayreret Matkal?
Because of the launch-positions destroying, some innocent that are launching rockets for the Hammas are killed. But, should we let them fire our civilians? Or, should we protect our civilans and killed the attackers?
MADSPIC, if we go back to borders of 1967, the terrorists organizations will get closer to Israeli civilians. They will have better launching-positions and more ability to kill "the Israeli enemy". Therefore, I don't think it will reduce the conflict. It will do the exact opposite.
ULGNUD, I know that a lot of you are not "idiots".
By the way, just for you know, a long-range missile was just intercepted on his way to Tel-Aviv.
Ask yourself this question. Who wins by having Israel drop bombs on Gaza right now? Why Israel politicians do! Its amazing how right before an election you are talking of an "operation" with ground troops. When did this happen last? Why the last time there was AN ELECTION IN ISRAEL! Dont sit there and pretend it didnt happen and that the hardline right wing government wont get a boost at the polls because of it.
But getting back to this conflict. Do you know how to end this? Stop building settlements in occupied territories. Make a peace deal and walk away from this.
Your leaders are selling you down the apartheid road. I have read of support for a so called one state solution where Israel keeps grabbing land. Thats a bad idea unless you plan on giving all the Palestinians the same rights you have. But I dont think thats the plan. Why? Because if you took in all the Arabs and gave them the vote you would be in deep problems keeping Israel Jewish. When it becomes one sate and there are two sets of rights depending on ethnic criteria it will be impossible to refute the idea of apartheid. When that happens, there will not be a politician alive in the USA that will support you. In the USA we have this thing about equal rights, its a deal breaker. A politician that supports apartheid will loose any chance of reelection and they know it. Pray for peace.
Hamas knew they were inviting retaliation by firing rockets into Israel. I think that they do this during the run up to an Israeli election because it serves their purposes politically to have the Israeli hardliners in power. If the Israelis and Palestinians made peace, Hamas would have to reason to exist.
"you are the Disease we are the Cure"
S.S
Why are they the disease? Do they not bleed red like you? Do they not have children like you? You think Jesus would have them staked to a cross?
I must say though that I do not weep for Jabari because he is nothing but a murderous zealot. But I do understand how he must have become that way. Also when Hamas says that the actions of Israel have open the gates of Hell, that implies that GAZA is part of Hell and that Hamas are devils. That rhetoric gets you nowhere. The conflict between Israel and Palestinians seems to me will never end until they get tire of killing each other. I wonder if they ever think what their deities must think of them.
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/
It starts by Israel in helicopters shooting rockets, then the Palestinians react and shoot back. Then Israel says they have to "defend" themselves, and send more bombs. Then the Palestinians shoot more rockets, soon Israel sends in the troops.
Israel is like a child kicking a hornets nest, when the hornets come out they say "why me" and point at the hornets as the problem.
---
Maybe because Israel practices apartheid. You really expect people to meekly accept that without any response?
Daft......
"RonJula........enjoy the cancer next year"
Please don't say that, then the Israelis won't be able to harvest his organs on the BlackMarket.
This specific "fight" between the Israelis and the Palestinians has begun with the Hammas attacking 4 Israeli soldiers. All were high-level injured. As a respond, Israel didn't fire rockets, but attacked specific areas and terrorists, while Hammas and The Islamic Jihad firing rockets on innocent Israeli civilians.
Luckily, Israel has a great defence with the system of the "Iron Dome", so only one Israeli woman was injured and houses and factories were damaged.
Anyway, thanks to Egypt's mediation, the attacks by both sides were supposed to be stopped. Israel stopped the killing of terrorists. Hammas didn't. They sent more rockets.
So Israel killed the chief of Hamas' military wing. And then, even more rockets were fired. As we speak, the time in Israel is 1 AM. One million Israelis, including kids, are not sleeping, fearing for their lives.
In the last few hours, Hammas fired about 50 rockets to Israe ("Iron Dome" system stopped about 30 of it). At least one Israeli woman is injured.
But do you know what is the real problem with attacking terrorists? As you can see in the picture in the following address:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=442585132456347&set=a.137355079646022.20713.137062469675283&type=1&theater.
terrorists likes to place their underground launch positions of long-range missiles (marked red) in the middle of cities, next to mosques (marked yello), kindergartens (marked blue), and factories and gaz stations (marked orange).
I wish you all will never have to handle a problem like Israel handles today. As I said, it's the middle of the night here in Israel. Not as the kids from Beer-Sheva and Sderot, and other Israeli cities aroung Gaza's strip, I am going to school tomorrow, so I'll go to sleep now. At least I will try, knowing my friends in the south are scared to death right now. The helicopters sounds in the sky are not helping neither.
Good night!