As you no doubt know, on November 15th, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense — an operation designed to stop rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel. And as you also know, many voices in the media and around the world are focusing on Israel’s strikes while ignoring the context which necessitated them.
In the week preceding the launch of yesterday’s operation, over 120 missiles were fired from Gaza into southern Israel and since the beginning of 2012, over 760 missiles have been fired from Gaza into Israel’s southern communities. Since Israel launched this operation, over 300 additional missiles have been fired into Israel, killing three Israelis and injuring many more. These missiles target Israeli civilians, and have forced over one million Israelis into bomb shelters.
Israeli tanks and troops have moved toward the Gaza Strip in apparent preparation for a possible invasion, raising the likelihood that the region was on the brink of all-out war.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak summoned more than 30,000 reservists to military duty. Barak said the order was intended to make Israel “ready for any development.”
The Israel Defense Forces said over 16,000 reservists have been mobilized, out of the 30,000 approved by the Israeli government. Those soldiers could be seen from Kiriyat Malachi, 20 miles north of Gaza, massing and heading toward the border, even as officials indicated that the decision to invade had not yet been made.
“We have made the preparations, and entering is certainly an option,” said a senior Israeli military official based in southern Israel, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. “If the politicians were looking for an excuse, Hamas gave them one.”
In a new development, Hamas today said it fired a rocket toward Jerusalem. Air sirens were heard in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. Security sources confirmed one rocket had landed in an open area in a Palestinian village just outside Gush Etzion, a suburb located south of Jerusalem near Bethlehem.
Abu Abdullah, a spokesperson for Hamas’ so-called military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, told KleinOnline today the rocket fired at Jerusalem was aimed at the Knesset, or Israel’s parliament.
Hostilities between Israel and Gaza have increased steadily since Tuesday morning, when Israeli planes hit targets across Gaza and assassinated Hamas’ top military leader, Ahmed Jabari.
The possibility of all-out war has alarmed countries around the globe.
Egypt’s Islamist government ordered the border crossing at Rafah opened around the clock to allow wounded Gazans to seek medical care in Egypt. Hamas leaders said offers of assistance were pouring in from throughout the Arab world.
The United States expressed support for Israel and blamed Hamas for triggering the violence by allowing militants to fire rockets into Israel. President Barack Obama spoke with Egypt’s Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, and urged him to broker a cease-fire. Hamas considers itself a close ally of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, of which Morsi was a leading member before he assumed the presidency.
France, too, sought to broker peace between the two sides, with the country’s prime minister saying President Francois Hollande had been in touch with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Morsi. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called the violence “dangerous for the security” of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to news reports.
Morsi sided with Hamas, saying, “The Israelis must realize that this aggression is unacceptable and would only lead to instability in the region and would negatively and greatly impact the security of the region.”
Police and military officials said they had not confirmed what type of rocket had managed to span the more then 40 miles between the Gaza Strip and the Tel Aviv area. But suspicion fell on Iranian-made Fajr missiles, which Israeli officials say Hamas militants have smuggled into Gaza in recent months.
Plumes of smoke above Gaza were laced with the trails of outgoing rockets, many of which exploded in midair as Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system intercepted them.
Every nation on earth has the right to defend its citizens from attacks. Most nations would have taken action after one or two missiles were fired into their territory. Israel has waited until over 760 rockets had been fired into its territory before launching Operation Pillar of Defense.
Perfect Storm Warnings! 
I don’t see how Israel will ever be at peace without driving these people in Gaza out, south into Egypt.