Ground Forces Push Into Gaza

Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early today, cutting it into two and surrounding its biggest city as the new phase of a battle against terrorist group Hamas gained momentum. Gaza officials said at least 31 civilians were killed in the onslaught. The military said troops killed several dozen terrorists, but Gaza officials could confirm only four dead — in part because rescue teams could not reach the battle zones. One Israeli soldier was killed in the action, which so far has been widely popular with the Israeli public.

The ground operation is the second phase in an offensive that began as a weeklong aerial onslaught aimed at halting Hamas rocket fire that has reached deeper and deeper into Israel, threatening major cities and one-eighth of Israel's population.

Booker Rising response: A very risky venture for Israel. However, Israel has a moral obligation to defend its citizens against terrorists, especially since Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement. As I wrote three years ago, I find it hypocritical that Arabs worldwide wanna trip about Israel's small sliver of real estate. Meanwhile, Arabs have engaged in far larger and historically far more brutal occupation: occupation of black land in Africa, and Arabs' gross human rights violations towards black populations. Yet Arabs are very silent on this issue. Until the Arab League addresses this issue, I have no sympathy for Arab arguments about Israel. I still remember Palestinians cheering in the streets after the 9/11/01 attacks too. Predictably, we see leftists around the world rallying behind the terrorists while they criticize Israel.