Hamas rocket men still getting their shots
Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel persisted Monday despite a now 10-day campaign of Israeli air strikes and two nights of ground combat in northern Gaza.Joudeh's statements suggest that those Palestinians who heed the warnings the Israelis are giving them can avoid getting caught as Hamas human shields. It also makes clear that the Israeli invasion was not the murderous expedition that many in the media had feared.Thirty targets were hit overnight in Gaza, according to the Israeli military, including an underground munitions bunker and what it said was a mosque that was used to store a large amount of weapons. A number of militants are known to have been killed when a rocket launcher was destroyed, a military spokesman said, but no number was given.
Israel Defense Forces also said it targeted tunnels that Hamas has used for moving weapons into Gaza under the border from Egypt. The Israeli navy also shelled targets in Gaza. Israeli police and ambulance services said at least 16 rockets had been fired into Israeli territory Monday morning.
"After all this overnight pounding that we've heard ... continuing gun battles ... the warning sirens sounded in the town nearby here," CNN's Nic Robertson reported Monday. "That was an indication that a rocket was being fired out by Hamas into Israel and the rocket landed on the hillside a little bit away from where we are ..."
Israeli helicopter gunships are patrolling the Israeli-Gaza border, Robertson reported.
Watch a report on the continued fighting »
Israel also stepped up its psychological campaign Monday, trying to turn the citizens of Gaza against Hamas. "Urgent message, warning to the citizens of Gaza," said a recorded phone call to Gaza resident Moussa El-Hadad.
"Hamas is using you as human shields. Do not listen to them. Hamas has abandoned you and are hiding in their shelters."
Previously, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets warning civilians to leave the area for their own safety.
The Israeli military said 47 rockets were launched from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday -- including 12 Grad rockets.
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Palestinian sources reported seeing a column of Israeli tanks near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, in what could be an effort to further divide the territory.
"Every couple of minutes we hear an explosion," Safa Joudeh, a Gaza City resident, told CNN early Monday. "We can see tanks coming closer and closer into Gaza."
She said most residents are confined to their homes, without electricity and are running out of food and water. "Many people didn't even realize there was a ground invasion until the next morning," Joudeh said.
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What the report also indicated is that Israel has not taken control of all the launch sites at this time. The force heading for Khan Yunis may be moving on another launch site.
I expect we will see Israeli raids into Gaza City and other urban areas to capture or destroy Hamas "militant" operations.
Because the rocket men are still operational at this point it is hard to judge the effectiveness of the Israeli operation. They have clearly degraded Hamas's command and control and have destroyed many of its assets and leadership targets. At some point this attrition will effect operations. That will be the tipping point for Hamas resistance.
In the perverse minds of the Hamas death cult, as long as they can cause noncombatant casualties in Israel and induce them in Gaza they are winning regardless of the facts on the ground. When they lose that ability they will have clearly lost the war regardless of their state of mind, because their operations will have become hopeless.
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