The next stage

 A week after Hamas launched a ferocious assault against Israeli communities in the Gaza periphery region a lot of questions remain unanswered. However, some things are a lot clearer now. It appears that details of the ‘battle plan’,  and especially the timing of the assault were a closely guarded secret known to very few in the terror group’s high command. Mohammed Deif the leader of Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, is known to have planned and organised the attack.  There have been claims that the decision to prepare the attack was taken jointly by Deif and Yehya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas political wing in Gaza, but it’s clear that Deif was the C-in-C of the deadly assault.

Omri Brinner, an Israel and Middle East analyst at the International Team for the Study of Security Verona (ITSS) describing Mohammed Deif, said -

“As someone who has escaped multiple assassination attempts, Deif is the ‘ultimate survivor of Palestinian resistance’. His ability to evade Israeli intelligence services has earned him the nickname ‘the man with nine lives’.

Considered an international terrorist by the United States since 2015, Deif has led direct and constant threats to the internal security of Israel for over 30 years.

By maintaining an extremely low profile he has managed to survive. However, he is far from unscathed. Deif is said to have lost an eye, an arm, and a leg after Israeli attempts to assassinate him.

Jacob Eriksson, a specialist in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the University of York,

said, "Militancy against Israel is a field with low life expectancy. It’s quite remarkable that he has been able to survive so long. He is a long-lasting stain on Israel's reputation of ‘taking out’ designated targets,"

Margin note: - By no stretch of the imagination is it possible to use ‘laundered terminology when referring to Hamas terrorists. Using innocuous terms such as, ‘freedom fighters’, ‘militant’s etc., accords them an unjustified measure of legitimacy.

So, let’s call a spade a spade, they are terrorists of the worst kind.

I think my daughter Daphna Whitmore described them best in a piece she wrote for a New Zealand website. But then I’m prejudiced, don’t take my word for it, read it. Here’s the link-

https://plainsight.nz/derangement/

 

As invariably happens when the IDF regroups after terrorist attacks and carries the offensive to the enemy, various self-righteous, so-called humanitarian organisations ‘come out of the woodwork’ determined to foil Israeli counter attacks. Here are a few examples: -

The Patriarchs and heads of Churches in Jerusalem call for the immediate cessation of all violence and military activities, reiterating that everything is lost with war.

Pope Francis made an’ impassioned appeal for peace in the Holy Land during the Angelus on Sunday. He is one of the several voices from Churches around the world calling for an immediate de-escalation of the violence unleashed on 7 October by an Hamas attack which prompted Israel to issue an official declaration of war (“Operation Swords of Iron”).

The Centre for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) calls for an immediate de-escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups and urges all parties to cease their attacks against civilians.

On Monday the World Bank urged a "rapid de-escalation" of the fighting in ... Gaza.

Note the repeated use of the term de-escalation.

In a New York Times opinion piece posted on Friday UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged Israel to “reconsider” its warning to civilians in Gaza that they should leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours.

The message, at midnight on Friday, indicated that the IDF could be readying to launch a ground invasion after days of aerial bombardment in response to the massive Hamas onslaught a week ago,

The warning applies to UN staff and those sheltered in UN facilities in those areas.

“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” a UN spokesperson said. “The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”

Roughly 1.1 million Palestinians live north of Wadi Gaza, according to the UN.

(Wadi Gaza is a ravine that roughly divides between north and south Gaza.)

 

Earlier Friday, the White House said the Israeli warning was a “tall order” adding that the United States understands Israel is trying to give civilians “fair warning.”

More than 330,000 people have been displaced in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of the enclave, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said early Thursday.

In a statement, OCHA further expressed its concerns over the damage of civilian infrastructure in Gaza. Israel began a blockade of the densely populated enclave, cutting electricity, fuel, and water supplies.

"The cumulative number of displaced people increased by 30 percent over the past 24 hours, now totalling 338,934, of whom over two thirds are taking shelter in UNRWA schools." The statement read.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said it is aiming to provide "a critical food lifeline to over 800,000 people."

 Occasionally cartographers forget to demarcate Israel and are hard put to find a space for the Gaza Strip. This understandable oversight is easily explained away.

That narrow sliver of land adjacent to the Western Negev is only 41 km long.

By comparison the famous King Ranch in South Texas is nine times larger than the Gaza Strip. Admittedly, the ranch isn't one contiguous plot of land. Nevertheless, the contiguous  area is a lot larger than that narrow finger poking into Israel from Sinai.

King Ranch is a mere garden plot compared to some of the Australian sheep and cattle stations.

If it were possible to carve out that small part of the east Mediterranean coastline and transport it to Australia, it would fit  into Alexandra Station in the Northern Territory 67 times and 94  times into the Anna Creek station in South Australia, the world's largest ranch.

I doubt many Israelis would miss the loss, but I'm sure Australians would regret their gain. 

Take care.

Beni.

14th of October, 2023