IDF build-up continues in Gaza sector. More Hamas rockets expected this week

As both sides gird up for a showdown, whether or not it will take place is anyone’s guess, given the dense blackout of secrecy on the duelers’ intentions. When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu returned home from a visit to Washington, which he cut short after a Hamas rocket hit a home in the Sharon region, he went straight into a conference with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and top security officials. Their most pressing concern was how to get around the stumbling block of Hamas’ March of Return anniversary, which the Palestinian terrorist organization means to celebrate to the full, meaning a larger than ever mass onslaught on the Gaza border and the IDF military defenders this coming Friday. After that, Hamas may – or may not – be more accommodating on terms for a ceasefire, but not before.

Intelligence reaching DEBKAfile’s sources from the Gaza Strip indicate:

  1. Hizballah is contemplating limited or token action against Israel as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian terrorists.
  2. Hiamas’ political leadership is deeply divided on whether or not to continue its rocket offensive against Israel.

Israel’s decision-makers also appear to be at cross-purposes. One school of thought advises taking advantage of the controversy in the Hamas leadership to strengthen the “moderates.” The opposite side argues that Hamas is setting a trap for the IDF. They say that Hamas leaders want the breather they would gain from a phony ceasefire in order to then catch Israel off guard. Israel was indeed caught napping by the Hamas rocket fired at Tel Aviv on March 14 and again on March 25, when a home in the Sharon town of Mishmeret, 120km from Gaza, took a direct rocket hit. Israel’s leaders and generals must on no account be lured once again by Egyptian assurances that this time, Hamas is really, really turning over a new leaf and has committed to a truce.

Lt, Gen. Kochavi leads the second camp which refuses to be taken in again by Hamas’ wiles. He is preparing the IDF for combat in the Gaza sector that could last some days.. During the conference with Netanyahu in his capacity as defense minister, Kochavi issued the order to continue boosting the forces massing on the Gaza border and mobilizing reservists.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that it still could not be said with certainty that the Israeli government and high command were decided on their next step, when the decision was taken out of their hands by another Hamas rocket fired Tuesday night against the Eshkol district. This rocket drove home the harshness of their dilemma. No serious offensive can be conducted against Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza without exposing large parts of the country beyond the immediate Gaza neighborhood to the high risk of Palestinian rockets. On the other hand, inaction against Hamas; armed wing, aside from air strikes on empty buildings, only whets the Palestinian terrorists’ appetite for more escalation.

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38 thoughts on “IDF build-up continues in Gaza sector. More Hamas rockets expected this week

  • Mar 26, 2019 @ 22:48 at 22:48
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    what side is neville netanyanu on .will he back his general !

    • Mar 26, 2019 @ 22:55 at 22:55
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      Say no to the bad IDF and their unjustified aggression on the brave Palestinian heroes!
      There were couple misfires, but unintended to harm, from the peaceful Palestinian Gaza, this is almost true but highly exaggerated.
      Anyhow the bad IDF has no right to bomb!
      Why bomb peaceful heroic Palestinian people?
      All they want is only to clear out the whole Palestine of the bad Jews, that’s all.
      This bad action of the bad IDF requires strong actions.
      Long live Hamas and long live Ilhan Omar the revered DBS international supporter!

      • Mar 26, 2019 @ 23:54 at 23:54
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        bds canada:the whole world knows what you are,a bunch of vicious viles,even china is taking on the ouigours

      • Mar 27, 2019 @ 1:58 at 1:58
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        Oh man,,,,,you are so full of sh t!

        • Mar 27, 2019 @ 23:18 at 23:18
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          Let the Rabbi give a special dispensation like he did for the buses and spray pig squeezing over the rioters with drones when they go to rush the border.

      • Mar 27, 2019 @ 3:34 at 3:34
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        SCREW Pal-e-SWINE.

        Happy Nakba!

        • Mar 27, 2019 @ 3:49 at 3:49
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          Put the nakba in your ti

        • Mar 27, 2019 @ 15:43 at 15:43
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          Respectfully, Marg: it’s quite pleasurable to let the swine screw you.

          It takes the mind off of Nasrallah.

          #BooKosher

          • Mar 27, 2019 @ 17:33 at 17:33
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            May ALL your jihads turn into personal Nakbas!

            Happy Nakba!

      • Mar 27, 2019 @ 11:41 at 11:41
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        BDS Monster: Are you one of the Jewish self-haters or another Islamic terrorist – actually you are all the same and in cahoots.

      • Mar 27, 2019 @ 14:12 at 14:12
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        there must be a definitive end this time. hamas must he removed and an independent authority created to rule gaza, or Egypt administration.

      • Mar 27, 2019 @ 15:37 at 15:37
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        israil katil despot ve dikdatör çok katı kurallı terörist bir rejimdir

    • Mar 27, 2019 @ 1:13 at 1:13
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      Got it. Check.

      On 15th February, 1940, PM Neville Chamberlain in the House of commons affirmed,

      ‘Whatever the length to which others may go, H.M.Government will never resort to deliberate attack on women and children, and other civilians, for the purpose of mere terrorism,’

      in a reply to Captain Ramsey. This reaffirmed the position given on 14th September the year previous. ‘City bombing’, he emphasised, ‘was absolutely contrary to international law’.

      • Mar 27, 2019 @ 9:41 at 9:41
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        ” ‘City bombing’, he emphasised, ‘was absolutely contrary to international law’.”

        @ “MR_SLaYeR_the_JeSuS”,

        Great………………………….now please communicate that to your friends in Hamas and Islamic Jihad….OK?

      • Mar 27, 2019 @ 15:44 at 15:44
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        israil katil bir terörist devlettir netanyahu rüşvetçi yolsuzcu umarım israil halkı bu katil diktatör netanyahuya destek vermez seçimlerde çünkü netanyahu bir evanjelsit dünyayı yok etme düşüncesinde olan bir diktatördür

  • Mar 26, 2019 @ 23:06 at 23:06
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    Don’t forget to leave a hole in the border fence with Egypt, it is humane to leave a way out. The world needs to understand that jihad is messy business….

    • Mar 27, 2019 @ 15:39 at 15:39
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      israil despot ve diktatör bir rejimdir sürekli kargaşa çıkaran her ülkenin toprağında gözü olan bir ırkçı vahşi siyonist devlettir

  • Mar 26, 2019 @ 23:48 at 23:48
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    It is time for Israel to take back Gaza and the West Bank and send the Palestinians back to Jordan.

    • Mar 27, 2019 @ 9:46 at 9:46
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      “It is time for Israel to take back Gaza and the West Bank and send the Palestinians back to Jordan.”

      @jrcowboy49,

      ………………………….and to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Region from where their family clans all originally came from……………long before renaming themselves “Palestinians”.

    • Mar 27, 2019 @ 15:41 at 15:41
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      israil tüm ülkelerin toprağında gözü olan evanjelit bir diktatör devlettir kadın çocuk yaçlı kundaktaki bebeği bile öldüren rejimdir

  • Mar 26, 2019 @ 23:49 at 23:49
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    I have never known Muslims, Palestinian, or any other Muslims seek truce, peace agreements, or peace treaties, to be anything but ‘rest-stops’ to rest, rearm, and attack the infidel, and the dhimmi, at every opportunity.

    Israel: ‘Know thy enemy as you know thyself.’

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 0:08 at 0:08
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    The time has come for the Israelis to aim at the Palestinian Arabs leadership. They are all running for cover but they can’t run away from Gaza and I suspect their actual hiding holes are well known. Go get them, IDF!

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 0:42 at 0:42
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    The IDF is obviously not going to do anything. Even if they go to war they are not aiming to win. So save a lot of Israeli soldiers lives and stop trying to put up a show. Everybody knows you are bombing empty building so why bother. Those are nice pictures of a fireball of an empty building. Do it on a Hollywood set instead.

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 1:16 at 1:16
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    Hamas handed you the opportunity. If you can’t stop the missiles today- You’ll be buried by them in a year.

    No time like the present to make up for your lack of resolve in the past.

    • Mar 27, 2019 @ 4:20 at 4:20
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      I have to agree to agree with you completely.

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 1:53 at 1:53
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    Hamas and Co. are playing with fire. If you play with fire, you get burned.

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 5:07 at 5:07
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    send the paleswines into the ocean.
    IDF, use you might and turn Gaza into an ashtray.

    Long live IDF, Long live Israel.

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 5:16 at 5:16
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    Israel has milked this cow dry. If Gaza was such a threat they would have cleaned out the next of vipers years ago. Instead they allow their southern citizens to live in fear in order to show the world how unfair the Arabs treat them.

    If the Arabs are a problem then do something, if not quit talking about it. What happened to the brave Jews from 1948 -1973? Something happened in 1981 when Israel left Lebanon. Their spirit and will to resist has been broken.

    • Mar 27, 2019 @ 11:33 at 11:33
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      If Israel is to deliver the message that attacking Israel for any reason is unacceptable, then it will have get serious about wiping out Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the others and then establishing control over what is now a terror state that targets Israel.

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 7:02 at 7:02
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    The real issue here is the ADN. Why there is unrest and extreme violence since decades all over the Arab World?

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 13:26 at 13:26
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    Common Sense: Hamas, Hizballah,and all supporting organizations are terrorists. The Koran forbids making a lasting peace other than for purposes of regrouping, regaining strength for the ultimate battle intended to result in muslim victory, in this case the decimation of the Jews and unbelievers. ALL the Jews and unbelievers.
    Israel has to irrevocably remove the ability of these terror organizations to wage war against them. They are NEVER going away on their own. As long as these groups have capacity to wage war on Israel, they will.

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 14:12 at 14:12
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    I’m still afraid. REALLY afraid.

    I guess the only thing left to do is take it in the back side from a pig, like mom and dad told me.

    • Mar 27, 2019 @ 14:13 at 14:13
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      Mom and dad had bratwurst at my bar mitzvah. I was nervous–very nervous–so guess what I did with 3 of the bratwurst?

      It was the must fulfilling day of my life.

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 15:42 at 15:42
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    Lesson from the Muslim treaty of Hudaibiya = Muslim treaties with non Muslims are non binding.

    Muhammed attacked the Meccans after signing the treaty of Hudaibiya. Attacking and killing Meccans was an obvious violation of the treaty of Hudaibiya, but the victims did not want war with Muhammad and thus did not march against him. Yet, Muhammad jumped on the first excuse to attack Meccans who were not threatening him. His adversaries wanted peace, but he wanted power. Needless to say, they had little choice but to surrender to him without a fight.

    The dual ethics of Islam are ingrained in the faith, including the disparate treatment of unbelievers. It should be no surprise that Muhammad held others to standards by which he was personally unwilling to abide. In this case, he was the first to violate the treaty of Hudaibiya. Thus did he establish the example that a promise to non-Muslims is not obligatory for the believer. As Abu Bakr, himself a military leader, put it:
    “If I take an oath to do something and later on I find something else better than the first one, then I do what is better and make expiation for my oath.” (Bukhari 78:618)
    Muhammad no doubt would have agreed:
    “The Prophet said: ‘War is deceit’.” (Bukhari 52:269)

    If you want to know what your future is with Muslims then just look at the past.

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 16:12 at 16:12
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    Bibi’s Only option now is a full scale blow, from which the two-legged hamas rats would not recover !
    Anything else will cost him (and the Jewish state) much more, yet…

    • Mar 27, 2019 @ 16:37 at 16:37
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      First sure it will cost him the election

  • Mar 27, 2019 @ 19:00 at 19:00
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    Poor locals will suffer. Tanks may not work in this region. Take out the leaders like Nasrallah and Haniyeh. There will be NO Resistance left.

  • Mar 28, 2019 @ 13:14 at 13:14
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    War is the art of depriving your enemy of hope. The IDF has that capability, and since Hamas has never relented in their goals, it is time to take the gloves off.

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