JERUSALEM—The headline in a Tel Aviv daily as the Israeli air force began to attack Hamas rocket launching sites this week, "All The Way," hinted at a decisive offensive that would remove the threat to Israel from the Gaza Strip for good.
However, the tone from officials in Jerusalem suggests an Israeli intention to go only part of the way, leaving Hamas in control in Gaza, weakened but alive.
Israeli political commentators with access to government officials in Jerusalem are virtually unanimous in saying that the elimination of Hamas would lead to chaos in Gaza, with the likelihood of even more radical groups, like Islamic Jihad or offshoots of ISIL, assuming control there. Not even the most vigorous Israeli opponents of the pullout from Gaza nine years ago, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today advocate a permanent return to Gaza.
A "senior official" in Jerusalem, reacting today to reports of Hamas feelers for a cease fire, told the Times of Israel that Israel is not interested in an immediate cease-fire but prefers to continue reducing Hamas’ military capacity by heavy pounding from the air. "We’re not interested in a Band-Aid," he said. "We’re hitting them hard."
A former commander of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Eitan Eliyahu, told Israel’s Channel Two yesterday that the air force would want another week to tick off major items on its target list.
Thus far, Israel reports having hit close to 100 missile-launching sites and dozens of tunnels that permit Hamas to operate underground, including attack tunnels running under the border with Israel from which commando units would emerge into the Israeli rear. However, Israeli intelligence does not seem to know the location of Hamas’ long-distance rockets, which could hit Tel Aviv.
A new Israeli tactic in this round with Hamas, the third in five years, is to destroy the houses of Hamas commanders, which it believes demoralizes the enemy leadership. Israel Television reported on Wednesday 50 such houses destroyed from the air that day alone.
Hamas officials complained that Israel had stopped telephoning to warn residents of targeted houses to get out before they were hit, which it did in previous rounds and at the beginning of this one. However, an army spokesman denied that it had stopped doing so.
Although Israeli officials say that a ground incursion into Gaza is a "strong possibility," there is an apparent reluctance to undertake what is likely to be a costly operation, particularly if there is no intention to stay in Gaza. However, officials say, if air attacks fail to halt the rocketing, there will be no alternative but to send in ground forces.