Rocket exchange continues in Gaza

AP/NY Times:

Israel fired missiles at five Hamas targets just minutes apart Saturday, killing four people hours after Gaza militants floated the idea of halting rocket fire on Israeli border towns if Israel ends its 10-day-old air campaign.

After the attacks, Hamas said a truce was no longer being considered.

In all, Israeli aircraft launched 11 missile strikes Saturday. Before dawn, they struck near the house of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in a Gaza refugee camp, while troops in the West Bank arrested a Hamas Cabinet minister.

Israel's offensive is aimed at halting Hamas rocket fire from Gaza at Israeli border towns.

Since last week, dozens of targeted missile strikes have killed nearly 50 Palestinians and damaged many Hamas installations. Israel said some 225 rockets have landed in Israeli towns since May 15, killing one woman and sending thousands of frightened Israeli residents fleeing. One rocket landed in Israel on Saturday.

...
As usual the AP leaves out the months of provocation of unanswered rocket fire from Hamas that finally resulted in Israeli retaliation. It does nothing to explore the strategic purpose or lack there of in Hamas's aggression against Israel. Nor does the story indicate why Hamas might have been "considering" a cease fire, but does not want one after Israel strikes more targets. The muddle that passes for "strategic" thought by Hamas is not explored in interviews or analysis.

There is a half baked attempt at analysis of Israeli strategy by a Hamas spokesman that comes across as unintentionally incoherent. However, unintentionally incoherent is an apt description of the Hamas strategy at this point. I think they hoped to provoke an Israeli invasion of Gaza so they could go back to the excuse of blaming the "occupation" for their incompetent governance. Perhaps they are still holding out for that. In the meantime many Palestinians would look at Israeli occupation as an improvement.

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