(Ynet News) Ron Ben-Yishai - Israeli casualties have caused great elation among Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The Israeli intelligence community believes this is fueling their intransigence over cease-fire negotiations. Uncovering the terrorist tunnel network is progressing more rapidly than expected, and intelligence gathered during the fighting in Gaza has led Israel to tunnels it did not know about. The IDF is learning things it did not know before about the structure of the tunnel system and the way the terrorists intended - and still intend - to operate them. Hamas is indeed showing increased resistance, but almost every encounter between combatants on both sides ends in heavy losses to the terrorists. Losses on Israel's side cause great grief among the Israeli public, which sees every soldier in Gaza as a member of the family. But unlike during the Second Lebanon War, there is also public perception that this sacrifice is not in vain and that the war is justified.
2014-07-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive