Israel Begins Gaza Military Operations, With Possible End of Hamas Government (updated 6/28)
By Andrew Cochran
Israel has started a military campaign in Gaza against the Hamas-run Palestinian Authority, after Hamas refused to release Cpl. Gilad Shalit. This follows numerous attempts at negotiation through various third parties, and Israeli officials sent public and private signals in the past three days, including in private sessions with including journalists and bloggers, that they meant business and would not wait long. This operation will be extensive and could mean the complete end of the Hamas government.
One theory proposed to me by regional experts is that the capture was an intentional step engineered out of Hamas HQ in Damascus to sabotage any Hamas-Fatah prisoner swap and ratchet up tensions. They point out there is more than one "Hamas." See this NPR story for more discussion of htis view. It will be interesting to see what Abbas and Fatah do in reaction to the Israeli operations.
LAST UPDATE, 2:30 pm ET: "The IDF took control of the abandoned airport in Dahaniyeh and the town of Shuka in southern Gaza Wednesday morning." Israel also bombed a Hamas training camp and knocked out electricity and water supplies for most of the 1.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal "is a target for assassination for ordering the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip." Israel sent a message to Syria about its sponsorship of Hamas by buzzing President Assad's house.
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