The Fourth Day of Israel’s war with Hamas has come to and end and I believe that we are getting closer to a ground invasion of Gaza. As I wrote before this even began, there were two options: Israel ignores Hamas or plans on an invasion. Unfortunately, Israel decided to do an air campaign first in the mistaken hope that it would work. It is amazing how we continue to make the same mistake by thinking that the Israeli Air Force alone can solve the conundrum. Air forces have always believed they can solve the problem. If we look at World War II, there are two prime examples of failed Air Force attempts to solve military problems: Germany thought their attack on Britain would bring the country to its knees and then the Allied Air Forces thought the strategic bombing of Germany was the solution. In both cases they were ineffectual. The 2006 Lebanon War taught us that the IAF alone cannot do the job. Thankfully for us, the Iron Dome has made waiting for a permanent solution bearable. I am not a big believer in a ground assault, but I doubt we have a choice at this time.
Day Four began with a missile managing to penetrate Iron Dome, landing in a gas station in Ashdod. The result was a fire, much smoke, and thankfully, only one injury. This morning I successfully managed to get to my Friday morning shopping before the sirens went off at about 11:00. The attack was successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome, but one of four missiles must have been heading for Herzliya since it was intercepted over Tel Aviv creating a very large explosion overhead and spewing debris on Dizengoff Street. The rest of the day was quiet and I, and most residents of Tel Aviv, continued regular Friday errands. Unsurprisingly, Dizengoff Center, which has a food fair every Thursday and Friday, was full of people.
Hamas continued to fire rockets primarily on the South throughout the day. In the evening they resumed their attacks on the Tel Aviv area with one attack finding us still sitting around the dinner table. That attack, made up of seven missiles, was successfully intercepted. An hour later, without the sirens going off, but with the knowledge that there was an attack on other parts of the center of the country, another large explosion shook our building, as it seems that again a rocket was exploded overhead.
Another day has come to an end. Over 170 rockets have been fired at Israel. Luckily, through it all, only two people have been injured. However, there is no sign of this ending and instead, there are more and more indications that a ground assault may come soon.
