Meanwhile, along the Gaza border, Hamasniks logged in two incidents with the IDF. LiveLeak.com carries the following with some footage.
An Israeli force patrolling the area near the border fence, south of the Kissufim crossing, was fired on Tuesday afternoon. The Israel Defense Forces is looking into the circumstances of the incident.
About 40 minutes later, Palestinian gunmen fired at another force in the central Gaza Strip. The soldiers fired back at the shooters. There were no reports of injuries or damage in both incidents. More..
Meanwhile, the IDF was preparing to remove its last forces from Gaza following its three-week offensive there and deploy them outside the Strip.
The reserve soldiers were expected to be released later Tuesday, but the regular brigades were to remain around the Gaza vicinity and in nearby bases, preparing for any possible development.
Army officials estimated that the state of calm in the Strip would be maintained for a while and that Hamas would be busy restoring the organization and would therefore refrain from firing at Israel.
Many explosives and devices remain across the Strip from the days of battle, most of them belonging to Hamas. Two children were killed Monday while playing with a mine placed by Hamas fighters in an aim to booby-trap a building.
Guess we know who's to blame for that.
Meanwhile, US military analyists wasted no time looking over the situation and giving their playback.
Israel clearly won the latest round with Hamas, but could have gone deeper into Gaza and done greater damage to the organization, according to military analysts in the US media on a visit to the region this week.
"I think you achieved what one Israeli general called 'changing the reality' in which Hamas operates, but I think you were too restrained and could have gone deeper into Gaza," Lt.-Gen. Thomas McInerney, a 35-year veteran of the US Air Force and a Fox News military analyst, told The Jerusalem Post Monday after touring the Gaza periphery and receiving briefings from Israeli officials as part of a trip of military analysts organized by the New York-based Project Interchange affiliated with the American Jewish Committee.
The Gaza fighting is seen in the US as a healthy demonstration of Israel's capabilities, according to Lt.-Col. Rick Francona, a former US Air Force intelligence officer in several theaters and military analyst for NBC News.
Unlike in the wake of the 2006 Second Lebanon War, "the conversation in the US revolves around Israeli decision making - what's the end game? Are they going to remove Hamas? It doesn't question Israel's capabilities. You've won the battle," Francona said.
Both analysts said Israel seemed ready to face down Hamas in a long-term fight.
The ceasefire is "just the end of this round, and that seems to be Israeli policy right now. The best Israel can go for is to manage the conflict until Hamas can be made to go away," said Francona.
Reliable sources suggest that the it was a cabinet level decision to stop the action; the IDF was ready to go the distance. It was the uncertainty of the new administration that prompted a unilateral action at this point and wait for the inevitable final round. The same sources said not to worry, everything is in position for the moment the Hamasniks cross the line.
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The war Israel if fighting is far from over. The real battle, for Israel's right to exist and prosper and for a safer Middle East for our children to grow up in, is yet to be fought. This battle will not be fought in the streets of Gaza but in the halls of the UN and the White House. To win this battle we need a strong government, resolved to do the best for Israel and its citizens.
This is a crucial election where in the fate of the country will be decided. If you want a strong, national government determined to defend Israel's NATIONAL interests, we invite you to participate in a unique, unprecedented event Yisrael Beytenu will be holding this Thursday, January 22nd at the Shalom Hotel in Bayit Vegan, for the English speaking community. Key figures such as Dr. Uzi Landau, Ambassador Danny Ayalon and Adv. David Rotem will speak about the policies and platform of Yisrael Beytenu.
As a party with a history of attracting new immigrants, Yisrael Beytenu has identified the English-speaking community as one of its key constituencies. As proof of this, former Ambassador to the U.S. Ayalon, until recently co-Chair of Nefesh B'Nefesh, was asked to head the Anglo division at Yisrael Beytenu. This stands in stark contradiction to most other political parties which do not assign such a high-profile figure or any significant resources for the Anglo community campaign.
If you wish to hear more about the party that's set to become, according to recent polls, the third largest party in the Knesset, about the party with the highest percentage of women likely to becomes MK's, which also has the highest Anglo on any of the major lists in Danny Hershtal, formerly of Toronto
Come meet out candidates:
Venue: Shalom Hotel, 22 Shacharai Street, Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem (Behind Shaarei Tzedek Hospital)
Date: Thursday, January 22th 2009, at 8:00 PM
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