Israel launches Operation Solid Rock against Hamas

Published 8 July

The Israeli government has launched Operation Solid Rock, authorizing the calling up 40,000 reservists as it prepares for a long campaign against Hamas, a campaign which may include land incursions into the Gaza Strip. About 10,000 are being called right away, and they will be sent to Israel’s borders in the east and north, allowing army units now stationed there to move south to engage Hamas in the south. The calling up of 10,000 reservists – about four brigades – indicates that, at this stage at least, Israel contemplates a relatively limited ground operation in Gaza. Militants in Gaza have, in the last three days, been launching nearly 100 missiles and rockets a day at Israeli cities and towns in the south of Israel, and last night the IDF has intensified its retaliatory strikes by attacking nearly 150 targets across the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government has launched Operation Solid Rock, authorizing the calling up 40,000 reservists as it prepares for a long campaign against Hamas, a campaign which may include land incursions into the Gaza Strip. About 10,000 are being called right away, and they will be sent to Israel’s borders in the east and north, allowing army units now stationed there to move south to engage Hamas in the south.

The calling up of 10,000 reservists – about four brigades – indicates that, at this stage at least, Israel contemplates a relatively limited ground operation in Gaza.

Militants in Gaza have, in the last three days, been launching nearly 100 missiles and rockets a day at Israeli cities and towns in the south of Israel, and last night the IDF has intensified its retaliatory strikes by attacking nearly 150 targets across the Gaza Strip.

Israel has also resorted to tactics it used effectively in the past — targeted killing of Hamas military leaders and the bombing of the homes of Hamas leaders.

Thus, among the targets attacked by Israel Air Force (IAF) last night, were the homes of Iad Sakhik, a top Hamas operative who participated in rocket and mortar fire; Abdallah Hashash, a Hamas operative from Rafah involved in recent rocket fire; Samer Abu Daka, top Hamas member in Khan Yunis involved in terror activity; and Hassan Abdallah, top Hamas operative also involved in recent rocket fire.

An IAF strikes also killed Rashad Yassin, a member of the Izz a-Din al-Qassam, Hamas’s military arm, who was in the Nuseirat refugee camp when he was hit.
Hamas acknowledged that in these attacks Israel has followed its policy of calling the homes targeted for attack to alert the residents and give them about 15 minutes to leave for safety.

Hamas is urging Gaza residents to stay in their homes, and even stand on the roofs, to serve as human shields — but these calls apply only to regular Gazans. Family members of Hamas leaders typically rush to vacate their home to escape injury. In the home of the Quera family in Khan Yuinis, however, a Hamas military leader’s wife and children decided to return to their home after leaving it, and were killed in subsequent the air strike.