Israel Sends Tanks for Further Gaza Escalation After Botched Raid Sparks Fighting

Israeli strikes pound Gaza Strip, destroy TV station

The Israeli military is ordering more tanks and ground troops to the Gaza border on Monday, with officials having reportedly green-lit the military to continue attacking the strip. Hamas has warned they will respond to continued Israeli aggression with more rocket strikes, and at longer range.

The entire matter started with an overnight Israeli military raid which went wrong, leading to a firefight that killed seven Hamas members, and one Israeli military officer. This led to Gaza rocket fire, which led to more Israeli attacks, and a day-long escalation.

By Monday evening, some 300 Gaza rockets were reported fired, having done some damage in the area immediately surrounding the strip. Israel attacked and destroyed a TV station in Gaza, and also killed several people over the course of the day.

This precipitous escalation fueled a lot of anger on both sides, and led to calls for revenge against the other side from both sides. There is little sign anyone is looking to calm the situation in the near-term, and that likely means more violence in the days to come.

This happens unfortunately often on the Gaza-Israel border, where years of tensions mean both sides are always waiting for the next conflict, and officials are only too willing to try to reap near-term political benefit by escalating the conflicts.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.