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History Is Repeating Itself in Gaza, but this Time Israel Can Seriously Damage Hamas
(Telegraph - UK) David Blair - The conflict is grimly familiar to anyone who remembers the last two rounds of the conflict in Gaza - Operation Cast Lead in 2008-09 and Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012. But two vital differences are worth highlighting. The first is that Israel's defenses against rocket attack, based on the Iron Dome system, are more sophisticated than ever before. Hence the 160 rockets appear to have caused no injuries, let alone fatalities. The second is that Hamas is starting from a position of unprecedented weakness. During the previous operations, it was firmly allied with Hizbullah, Syria and Iran as part of the "axis of resistance" against Israel and the West. Hamas could replenish its stockpile of rockets using an established supply system Today, by contrast, the "axis of resistance" has been broken on the anvil of the Syrian civil war. Meanwhile, the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo means that Egypt now has a regime with no qualms about sealing off Gaza or cooperating with Israel. Consequently, Hamas is more isolated than ever before.