Israel strikes Gaza after Hamas fired 50 mortars

[News_Editor]

Israel strikes Gaza after Hamas fired 50 mortars

2011-03-20 00:59:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

GAZA CITY (BNO NEWS) -- Israel Defense Forces on Saturday struck targets in the Gaza strip after Hamas fired nearly 50 mortar shells that landed in southern Israeli communities, the Ma'an news agency reported.

Locals said the Israeli strikes targeted a security facility of Hamas' military wing in Gaza City. The ministry of interior in Gaza said three Hamas security officers were injured in the shelling attack, including one seriously. A medical official said earlier that a 3-year-old boy was lightly injured and that a 26-year-old man sustained moderate wounds in his foot and his hand.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, claimed responsibility for the mortar attacks, saying in a statement that the shelling came in retaliation to Israeli "crimes and the ongoing air and ground strikes on the Gaza Strip the latest of which targeted and killed two Hamas' fighters."

"We claim responsibility for these Jihad missions affirming that we are ready to respond to the Israeli aggression and to counter any folly by occupation with all means we have," the statement added, as cited by the agency.

According to the Jerusalem Post, two Israelis were lightly injured and a building sustained serious damage. Following the attacks, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman instructed diplomats in New York to file an official complaint to the Security Council.

Recently, the region has witnessed an escalation of rocket attacks against Israel and Israeli air attacks against Gaza. During the month of February, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip killed seven Palestinians and left 46 injured, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported earlier this month.

This is the biggest attack from the Gaza strip on Israel this year. Until Saturday, more than 60 mortar shells, Qassam rockets and Grad rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory since the start of 2011, according to IDF figures.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-20

[TAWP]

No outrage from the peace-nicks?

[Ulysses G.]

Not when Israeli's are the victims.

[coma]

The use of proportionate force would be desirable. Attacking the actual mortar plate would be proportionate and would ensure the nutralization of combatants only.

According to the Jerusalem Post, two Israelis were lightly injured and a building sustained serious damage.

"Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip killed seven Palestinians and left 46 injured"

[Crushdepth]

It's just not news. When they take a day off from killing each other, post that as a headline instead.

[Steely Dan]

Take a closer look at the article starting with the title, notice how the sentence starts with the word Israel instead of Hamas. Hamas fires 50 mortars at Israeli civilian targets, Israel retaliates has a far different feel to it. The article proceeds to mention the injured on the Hamas side before it mentions those on the Israeli side. You have to read to the last two lines of the article to be told that this was the biggest attack from the Gaza strip this year.

Our inbuilt bullshit detector adjusts the tone automatically, but the 'liberals' lap it up and are no doubt privately creaming themselves if Hamas does succeed in killing anyone as they no doubt deserved it for being there.

[Ulysses G.]

The use of proportionate force would be desirable.

If they used "proportionate force" for 50 mortar rounds, a lot more Palestinians would end up dead. Proportionate force is based on the force used, not how many victims there were.

However, according to international law, Israel is not required to calibrate its use of force precisely according to the size and range of the weaponry used against it, so something so foolhardy is only "desirable" to folks like you.

Edited March 20, 2011 by Ulysses G.