Israel Defense Forces Taking Another Bite Out of Gaza

We have been understandably focused on domestic issues for the past week, but in the rest of the world, there's still plenty going on. Case in point: In the Middle East, the Israeli Defense Forces are pushing deeper into Gaza City, with the intent of rooting out and dealing with Hamas goblins, and rescuing Hamas's remaining hostages.

Hamas is (as usual) making some pretty wild-eyed claims about casualties.

Israeli troops and tanks pushed deeper into Gaza City on Wednesday as more people fled the devastated area, and strikes cut off phone and internet services, making it harder for Palestinians to summon ambulances during the military's new offensive.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 65,000, local Hamas terrorist-led health officials said.

Any such claims from Hamas should be taken with the entire national output of salt from the United States and China. Hamas "terrorist-led health officials" are not to be exempt from that rule.

Israel appears to have gone to some lengths to prepare the battlespace:

The Israeli military said air force and artillery units had struck the city more than 150 times in the past few days, ahead of ground troops moving in. The strikes toppled high-rise towers in areas with densely populated tent camps. Israel claims the towers were being used by Hamas to watch troops.

And again, with Hamas' claims:

Regulators said the severed phone and internet services hindered the ability of Palestinians to call for help, coordinate evacuations, or share details of the offensive that began Monday and aims to take full control of the city.

Overnight strikes killed at least 16 people, including women and children, according to Hamas hospital officials. The death count in Gaza climbed to 65,062, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is part of what remains of the Hamas terrorist-run government. Another 165,697 Palestinians have been wounded since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that triggered the war.

Again, any claims from Hamas about Gazans killed or wounded should be taken with extreme skepticism.

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Here's the thing, though, about all this: Even if Hamas' wild casualty claims are correct, even if 65,062 Gazans have been killed to date in this operation, every single one of those casualties can only be laid at the feet of Hamas. Hamas has been complaining about the need for a cease-fire, but it is belaboring the obvious to note that, before October 7th, 2023, Hamas had a cease-fire.

Then they attached Israel. Then they deliberately targeted Israeli civilians. Then they committed atrocities that decorum does not allow me to describe here. Then they carried out the greatest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.

Hamas started this with a vicious, heinous attack on Israel. Hamas started this by stacking up the greatest number of war crimes in one day in recent history. Hamas started this by killing Israelis, and now Israel is finishing it by killing Hamas goblins. We can scarcely blame Israel for these actions. And, we must also note, Israel has gone to great lengths, perhaps the greatest lengths in history, to minimize civilian casualties; the very civilians that Hamas has and does use as human shields.

And, again, there will be no lasting peace in Gaza until Hamas is no longer a factor.