Word: gaza
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...more than a week, Israel kept its troops poised for action at the edge of Gaza. But after seven days of aerial bombardment - and much grumbling in the Israeli military about indecisiveness on the part of the political leadership - the order finally came on Saturday evening to invade the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas. Following an artillery barrage aimed at detonating buried explosives and mines, Israeli armored columns began moving into Gaza in an apparent attempt to take control of areas used by Palestinian militants to fire rockets into southern Israel. Israeli officials stressed that the objective was to deal...
...Although the eight-day air campaign in Gaza has claimed some 450 Palestinian victims, and continues to inflict damage on Hamas fighters - as well as, inevitably, nearby civilians - the attacks have not kept Hamas from launching more missiles. At least 15 rockets fired from Gaza struck southern Israel on Saturday...
...used this "knock on the roof" practice of phoning warnings about strikes on the homes of Hamas leaders throughout the current campaign. Israeli officials say the campaign thus far has not significantly targeted or damaged Hamas' leadership and chain of command. (See pictures of Israel's campaign in Gaza...
...last at least a year or two. While they hope to weaken Hamas, Israel's leaders are aware that they're unlikely to destroy the organization, and among their primary concerns is to avoid getting dragged into a quagmire. Destroying Hamas would take a massive invasion of all of Gaza, but it would also require an open-ended reoccupation of the territory, a trap Olmert and Barak will avoid at all costs...
...dilemma of Olmert and Barak over how to end the campaign is nothing compared with that confronting President Abbas. He is facing a wave of anger sweeping across the West Bank, even within his Fatah organization, over his response to the Gaza events. Many Fatah leaders are demanding that Abbas not only break off the largely symbolic peace talks he continues to hold with the Israelis, but also that he end security cooperation between his forces and those of the Israelis. But Abbas can't afford to do that: Israel's Gaza campaign has actually strengthened Hamas politically, even...