Israel Declares 'Readiness for War' After Hamas Launches Rocket Barrage, Infiltration

[Boiler 45,525]

I would not call it a trap in that it was obvious from last Saturday what the plan was, and nothing I have seen has changed that.

 

I can not imagine both sides are not fully aware.

 

I am sure this has been wargamed many times.

[Pooky 3,786]

7 hours ago, Family said:

The unsettling feeling ..there is a trap . 
 

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/israel-hamas-war-iran-trap/675628/

The trap would be to respond with everything focused on Gaza and the Israeli military seeking revenge in kind for the Hama murder spree. That will not happen.

 

The Israeli military is professional and seeks to eradicate Hamas, not parade their brutality for the world to see. There will be civilian casualties and although these will be tragically regrettable, the world will not get over the fact that Hamas instructed people to stay, basically to become human shields because Hamas are cowards.

 

And the IDF is committing large numbers to the North of Israel, to show Hezbollah that it is prepared for a second front. Hezbollah are a far more dangerous adversary to Israel than Hamas, but, if anything, an easier opponent to fight. I doubt that Iran will risk an attack from the North at this stage.

 

Hamas caught Israel off-guard. Hezbollah will not. If they had attacked at the same time, Israel would have been in trouble. Not now.

[Boiler 45,525]

Maybe I did not get my point across, I mentioned a game I used to play, Nuclear War, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_War_(card_game), still got a copy somewhere. But I have also played many games where the victory conditions are different for each side, and this situation is a classic example of that.

 

For Hamas they are not looking to win militarily, they are not trying to conquer territory or even hold their own. Think of it is a campaign, this is just a small part.

 

Their Victory Points include how many civilians they can kill and capture, bonus for brutality, how many of their own civilian population are killed and injured, bonus points for every mosque and hospital destroyed. Might give some minor points for the number displaced.

 

How many Hamas terrorists they lose is irrelevant, not as if there is a shortage of replacements, as is repeatedly mentioned half the population is under 18.

 

One of the things that amused me is running out of fuel after 3 days allegedly for electricity, Israel cutting off water?, the majority of the water in the area is pumped from aquifers. Food crisis after a few days etc etc. If you are going to start a war normally you would be looking to make sure you had plenty of supplies but that would be contrary to their war aims.

 

Fighting through Built Up Areas is hard going, ask the Russians, but plenty of other examples, Stalingrad is probably the most generally known example, even the last few days of the Reich in Berlin were extremely costly. I could go on listing examples and the IDF is not really designed to do that.

 

Hamas have had years to fortify Gaza, how do you possibly take out Hamas?, the leadership is not there, you might get some of their lower levels but then again there is no shortage of replacements.

 

Quite easy for me to come up with Hamas Victory Points, I am struggling with Israel.

 

None of this is not very obvious and I would expect widely understood by those involved.

 

For some countries ike say Egypt this is a win win, Israel gets embarrassed, they can keep out of it, it is complicated but Hamas are inked to terrorist organisations they have to deal with so any losses they suffer is good and for weird political reasons there is very little pressure on them to intervene, provide supplies, open their Border etc.

 

At some point this will end and the EU, US Gulf states will send Gaza (Hamas) lots of money to 'rebuild' so what is not to like?

[Family 3,988]

On 10/12/2023 at 6:49 PM, EM_Vandaveer said:

I completely forgot visajourney has a politics forum, I never frequented it before.

I'm in Israel. I've been staying here on a (very) extended visit since March 2020 (with plans to make aliyah, eventually). Since March 2020, I believe this is my 3rd or 4th time that rockets are being fired from Gaza in bigger numbers - or at least I thought it will be just a "routine" occurrence like that....

Until I read about the massacres.

Although I live in a religious community, I myself am not 100% observant and so I went online after I was woken up by faint sirens (at the time it was not ours but the next sector's over from us) and explosions on Saturday morning.

 

I don't have words. I love Israel with all my heart, since the first time I set foot in this beautiful country, over 15 years ago and while walking towards passport control still inside the airport, I looked out the window, saw palm trees and the thought just hit me: "That's it, I'm home, one day I'll move to this country!" I cannot rightly explain it, other than it was like falling in love with a person except it was falling in love with a country, instead.

 

Now, Israel fights for its very survival, once again. It crossed my mind for a hot second to leave but I could not forgive myself. I'd betray who I am at the core. I converted to Judaism over 10 years ago. I knowingly accepted the Jewish people's fate as my own fate. There's no turning back now.

It's heartening to see this thread. It's disheartening to see social media.

Hamas supporters denying & celebrating the atrocities at the same time. (How does that work?).....

The false equivalency ("both sides are just as bad as each other")... What utter nonsense (I'd use a different word if it wasn't for the rules about profanity)!

 

I'm in a relatively safe area (in Judea, south of Jerusalem, in Gush Etzion, in a so-called settlement). We had sirens on the first day, 7/10 and one on 9/10. The rockets are not a major concern for this area. Possible infiltration from our neighboring Arab villages, however, is what I'm more worried about. There were gunshots nearby tonight and we had a notification that there was disturbance in the neighboring village which the army quickly took care of.

We hear faint rumblings day and night, that's Gaza being bombed. I hope each and every Hamas member is killed including the leaders who are safely in their palaces abroad. They deserve it. I hope for the least possible amount of civilian deaths in Gaza. It's war. War is horrible. Israel didn't start this war but Israel will finish it.

 

Anyway, thank you for reading my rant.

 

How are you ? 

[Boiler 45,525]

 

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

4 hours ago, Family said:

How are you ? 

Thank you for asking. I'm in a reasonably safe area. No siren since Monday evening. Lots of extra soldiers around the village keeping us safe, there was some minor incident near a nearby Arab village on Thursday evening, I heard shots, it was over quickly (local security-related whatsapp group confirmed it wasn't just training exercises). Nothing since. That incident, if anything, made me feel more safe because it's obvious our village is well protected.

[Family 3,988]

1 hour ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

Thank you for asking. I'm in a reasonably safe area. No siren since Monday evening. Lots of extra soldiers around the village keeping us safe, there was some minor incident near a nearby Arab village on Thursday evening, I heard shots, it was over quickly (local security-related whatsapp group confirmed it wasn't just training exercises). Nothing since. That incident, if anything, made me feel more safe because it's obvious our village is well protected.

Good. I would love to wave a magic want and drop 300,000 “ Bernie Sander “ s and Tibetan monks into Gaza …but IDF is the next safe bet 

 

Israel flattened a West Bank pizzeria with a bulldozer after it used a picture of an elderly hostage in an advert, reports say

https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-destroyed-pizzeria-west-bank-picture-of-elderly-hostage-ad-2023-10?amp

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Family

[TBoneTX 45,308]

This puts reality into very sad perspective.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli father said he punched the air with relief when he heard Hamas had killed 8-year-old daughter as the alternative would have been 'worse than death'

 

[...] "She was either dead or in Gaza.  And if you know anything about what they do to people in Gaza, that is worse than death."  [...]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/israeli-father-said-punched-air-100923066.html

[Boiler 45,525]

10 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

This puts reality into very sad perspective.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli father said he punched the air with relief when he heard Hamas had killed 8-year-old daughter as the alternative would have been 'worse than death'

 

[...] "She was either dead or in Gaza.  And if you know anything about what they do to people in Gaza, that is worse than death."  [...]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/israeli-father-said-punched-air-100923066.html

He was on CNN yesterday, did not post it because it was really upsetting to watch. He sounded English and his daughter looked English to me.

 

You can find the video if you want but be warned.

[TBoneTX 45,308]

26 minutes ago, Boiler said:

He sounded English and his daughter looked English to me.

Linked article said he was Irish, so you were very close.

27 minutes ago, Boiler said:

You can find the video if you want but be warned.

Thanks -- if I look, will be sure to steel myself.

[TBoneTX 45,308]

Well, well; surprise, surprise.

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A trove of captured documents reveals Hamas's Nazi-esque plans

 

[...] Hamas documents revealed that it had no intention of hitting military targets when it raided Israel last weekend.  Its goal all along was to target civilians…the younger, the better.  [...]

 

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/10/a_trove_of_captured_documents_reveals_hamass_naziesque_plans.html

[TBoneTX 45,308]

Needs reading.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Young Jews Brace for 'A Day of Global Jihad'

At our institutions of higher education, the quads are alive with hate.  [...]

 

https://www.thefp.com/p/young-jews-brace-for-a-day-of-global-jihad

[TBoneTX 45,308]

Rashida Tlaib Urges Nation To Resist Commercialization Of Day Of Jihad And Remember The True Spirit Of The Holiday

 

[...] "I know we're all excited, but we cannot forget the true meaning of the Global Day of Jihad, which is to commit genocide," Tlaib passionately argued. "We must fight the commercialization of this great day!  So I say no more Hallmark cards, no more Jihad lights, and no more presents — unless they explode."  [...]

 

https://babylonbee.com/news/rashida-tlaib-urges-nation-to-resist-commercialization-of-day-of-jihad-and-remember-the-true-spirit-of-the-holiday

[TBoneTX 45,308]

Ilhan Omar Wakes Up Early To See What Presents She Got For Global Day Of Jihad

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — United States Representative Ilhan Omar woke up extra early Friday so she could rush downstairs to see what presents she got for the Global Day of Jihad before anyone else got up.

"Hurry up!" she called to her brother. "The Global Day of Jihad only comes once a year, sleepyhead!"  [...]

 

https://babylonbee.com/news/ilhan-omar-wakes-up-early-to-see-what-presents-she-got-for-international-day-of-jihad

[TBoneTX 45,308]

Nations Wishing There Were Some Sort Of Structure They Could Build To Physically Stop Jihadists From Entering Their Borders

 

https://babylonbee.com/news/nations-wish-there-were-some-way-of-physically-stopping-jihadists-from-entering-their-borders