Through a perfectly executed use of misdirection, the Israel Defense Forces destroyed overnight Saturday Hamas' underground network of tunnels in less than an hour. This marks a turning point in the Israel-Gaza conflict and one might go as far as to say reflects the Jewish state's victory. And yet, the army is not done just yet.
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The IDF is set on eliminating several more high-ranking officials, like Mohammed Deif, the chief of staff of Hamas' military wing. Perhaps then, Israel will feel that it has obtained the upper hand.
This was most likely the reason the army targeted the Shati refugee camp on Saturday. Following Palestinian reports of an Israeli "massacre" and the death of several women and children, the IDF announced that the reason it targeted a building there was because several senior Hamas terrorists were in the camp that night.
The army is waiting for intel to clarify which Hamas seniors had been eliminated, but we already know that the intent was to attack Hamas' military wing. As always, the IDF wanted to prevent collateral damage, but terrorists often use women and children as human shields, which sometimes leads to the death of innocent civilians.
After destroying the tunnels, the IDF is assuming that Hamas operatives will understand that they are no longer safe underground, which will cause them to make mistakes and allow Israel to achieve a much-needed victory.
Although the IDF did not initiate Operation Guardian of the Walls, and in some ways was even taken by surpirse, Israel's military proved that it could protect itself and retaliate forcefully.
The IDF set Hamas' development back by years, and it will take months for the terrorist organization to recover. Morever, the army proved that it knows how to target Hamas' senior officials and destroy, if not them, then at least their homes. It destroyed several buildings that housed terrorist organizations and eliminated several anti-tank missile squads.
Nevertheless, we must remember that the longer the conflict continues, the greater is the chance of mistakes and collateral damage, to innocent civilians in Gaza and Israel.
According to estimates, Hamas has 11,000 rockets left. Therefore, there is no doubt that the rocket salvos will continue. Judea and Samaria are a cause for concern, as well. No wonder Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited the area Saturday after 11 Palestinians were killed in clashes with the IDF.
Terrorist attacks by individuals have increased as well, which is most disturbing considering the weak position Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas is in.
The northern border is also a cause for concern. Rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon on Thursday night, which apparently had been launched by a Palestinian organization. Saturday night, three rockets were fired at Israel from Syria.
And if that wasn't enough, several incidents also occurred at the Lebanese border. Several men tried to cut the border fence and sneak into Isreal. The IDF shot twice into the open space as a warning and later shot one of the suspects in the leg. The suspect later turned out to be a Hezbollah terrorist. He died of his wounds.
Later that day, five more tried to cut the fence and sneak into Israel. The IDF fired at their feet, and the suspects fled. A preliminary investigation of the incident revealed that they left behind explosives and were most likely planning on carrying out an attack in a nearby Jewish city.
One can only hope that the IDF will achieve its goals as soon as possible and the country will be able to calm down. And then we'll need to deal with the damage caused by the riots and clashes between Jewish and Arab Israelis.
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