The Jews Strike Back

What a night. The third Israel/Hamas war, Operation Guardians of the Walls has begun in earnest. It pits Israeli air power, technology, and intel against Hamas rockets, tunnels and infiltrations. 

Hamas rocketry has made great gains since 2014. In the last 36 hours they've launched over 1000 rockets, hundreds at Tel Aviv and other cities in central Jerusalem. This enhanced range is deeply troubling. Israeli intel estimates Hamas has between 5-6,000 rockets.

In several barrages last night Hamas tried to swamp Israel's Iron Dome. As of this writing Iron Dome is still shooting down about 90% of the rockets aimed at civilian areas. This footage of Iron Dome is simply breathtaking: 

Each one of those lights is an Iron Dome Tamir Missile streaking toward an incoming rocket. To our eye they never miss. Having seen half a dozen videos of Iron Dome in action, it seems the Israelis have set up overlapping batteries so that one rocket barrage is hit from both flanks. It looks almost exactly like Missile Command. Just how many of those Tamir Missiles do the Israelis have. A decade ago they cost $50,000 a pop. Surely scale and technological advancement has reduced the cost. Here's a pick of Tamir Missile reloads heading for the front. Hamas' enhanced missiles are much more expensive than those used in 2014, the cost/benefit balance is not as bad for Israel as it once was. Here's a Hamas video of their rockets in action.

Noted above, Hamas tried to swamp Iron Dome with several barrages of a hundred rockets or more launched in ten minute spans. They failed. And yet, and yet...the very launch is in itself an act of terror and therefore a partial success. For the rest of their lives a sirens will remind a generation of Israelis of childhood fear. A Hamas ATGM hit an Israeli jeep. This attack was supported by mortar fire. Hamas has also attempted drone attacks. 

As always Israeli intel is second to none. They've hit hundreds of targets in Gaza. In many instances footage shows Israeli ordnance impacting at the base of a large apartment or office tower. They're hitting basements and parking garages where munitions are stored. Phone calls and roof knocking missiles precede the strikes. Until this morning we had not seen much evidence that the Israelis were attacking the physical launchers. This blog speculates this is intentional so the Israelis can observe rockets making their way from storage sites to the launchers. The imams are right, the Jew is clever. The Israelis have also hit a lot of 'empty fields'. Almost certainly tunnels are below those fields. Pro-tip, a narrow plume in the air is usually a bunker buster bomb. 

The Israelis assassinated several Hamas leaders including the commander of their Qassam Rocket Brigade, the commander of their anti-tank missile unit and the head of their intelligence branch. Quote the IDF, 'Looks like our intel was better.' As of this writing the Israelis are promising more announcements about prominent assassinations. 

Arabs rioted in the city of Lod last night. Reports the Times of Israel: 'Intense Arab rioting broke out in the central Israeli city of Lod late Tuesday, with three synagogues and numerous shops reportedly set on fire, along with dozens of cars. The government declared a state of emergency in the Jewish-Arab city, and urgently dispatched several Border Police companies to work to restore order.' The mayor called it Kristallnacht. The IDF has sent in a border battalion to restore order. JFC. This ain't Shimon Peres' Israel. That's gonna get real expensive real quick for the Arabs. This is a disaster.

The Egyptian government is passing notes between Hamas and Jerusalem. The Israelis have said they are not interested in a ceasefire. Indeed, the tougher the response, the better Bibi looks. Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid both back Bibi. The Times of Israel reports, 'In a statement Wednesday, Bennett — a right-winger who has been under constant attacks by Netanyahu and his allies for negotiating on forming a coalition with centrist, left-wing and Arab parties — called on the government “not to end the current round [of fighting] in Gaza before Hamas pays a heavy price. He also called for steps to be taken to “immediately ensure the safety of the families besieged in their homes for fear of Arab mobs” and for bringing the perpetrators “to justice.”

In the end perception is everything. He who can say he kicked the most ass wins. Right now the Israelis are winning.