Word: palestinians
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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...
...acutely aware of the diplomatic clock, and the invasion will likely be over before Barack Obama moves into the White House. Israeli officials don't want Gaza to land on his desk as a major crisis - in part because they don't really want him intervening in the Israeli-Palestinian issue, but also because they want him to prioritize Iran. Diplomatic moves already afoot by the U.S. and Europeans - and the mounting pressure on Arab regimes, including that of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, to intervene even if their unstated preference is to see Hamas hobbled - might result...
Israel is also acutely aware of the diplomatic clock. The Israelis certainly want the operation over before Barack Obama enters the White House on Jan. 20, so as not to demand of him a crisis response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And the diplomatic moves already afoot by the U.S. and Europeans - and the mounting pressure on Arab regimes, including that of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, to intervene even if their unstated preference is to see Hamas hobbled - suggest that Operation Cast Lead's diplomatic window of opportunity will close a lot sooner. For all the above...
...Although the air war has so far claimed more than 400 Palestinian victims, and continues to inflict damage on Hamas - as well as, inevitably, on the civilians around it - Israelis believe the attacks have not yet delivered the deterrent blow they desired. Nor did that change as a result of Sunday's strike that killed top Hamas political-military figure Nizar Rayan. Although the assault on one of the movement's most senior figures has been interpreted by Hamas as an intentional body blow - and may yet prompt a furious retaliation - Israeli officials did not characterize it as a "targeted...