IS on steroids
Israel continues to search for 239 hostages, as its defense forces vowed not to stop the offensive until all of them are released or rescued.
Daily TribuneIsrael continues to search for 239 hostages, as its defense forces vowed not to stop the offensive until all of them are released or rescued.
The objective of the war against Hamas is clear: Eradicate the terrorists or suffer the recurring threat of deadly assaults.
In terms of cruelty and deviousness, Hamas is considered to be worse than the bigger Islamic State (IS) terror network.
Israel has to do it, according to a veteran in directing operations of US military forces, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, when asked on CNN about the necessity of pushing the war on Hamas unrelentingly amid the growing international call for a ceasefire.
Clark, who once sought endorsement in the primaries as a Democratic presidential candidate, told CNN about the difficulties that the Israeli military confronted in the difficult operation at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.
Israel continues to search for 239 hostages, including two Filipinos, as its defense forces vowed not to stop the offensive until all of them are released or rescued.
Clark said Israel knows "what the target is and knows what the risks are, including injuring people not in the operational force."
Yet, the US military veteran said Hamas is deliberately provoking the international community and (launched the 7 October terror attack) to discredit Israel.
Clark said the Israeli operations are pinpointed, which debunks claims of huge numbers of civilian casualties caught in the crossfire.
The Israelis know this. They've got great intel on this. When their soldiers go in armored vehicles and then dismount into the buildings, and if it is a very complex compound, they have helicopters and drones overhead. They are able to lock in the positions with lasers. They are able to deliver precise fire if there is an opponent inside," according to Clark.
The anti-Israeli protesters claim that the operations have resulted in graveyards of Palestinians based on figures provided by Hamas and terrorist-influenced organizations.
"At every step, the soldier on the ground and the tank commander and so forth is at risk. He's putting himself out there. He's likely to draw fire. He has the right to self-defense," according to Clark.
Anderson Cooper, the veteran journalist who is remembered for having been in the Philippines in the aftermath of super typhoon "Yolanda" and had recounted the slow response of the Aquino administration then, said that "one of the things I'm surprised about is that there's not more outrage internationally about Hamas that had two years to prepare for the attack."
He said the terror group that ruled the Gaza Strip "had not made any effort to build bomb shelters for the civilians."
They built tunnels "to store supplies and weapons and to protect themselves," he noted.
"But there are no bomb shelters, even the kind of shelters on the streets of Israel, by bus stops to protect against rockets," he added.
Cooper said it was stunning that Hamas was able to build a terror tunnel network but failed to provide for the civilian Palestinians after "receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from Qatar and other places."
Clark said Hamas calculated when it launched the attack on Israel that international outrage would grow as the collateral damage rose.
"They hope to drag Israel down with the rising casualties and do exactly what they're doing with world opinion," he said.
The bigger the number of civilian casualties blamed on the Israelis, Hamas believes its chances of success improve.
Cooper said that doctors and hospital staff know that rockets are being fired from their hospitals, but they don't speak out about it because they don't want to get killed. "Nobody speaks out against Hamas, for fear of their safety."
Fear and deception are the weapons of choice of Hamas, which it uses on suckers in every corner of the world.