700 troops could have died retaking Gaza, ex-general says

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The Israeli death toll during the summer war with Gaza could have reached as high as 700 had Jerusalem sent troops into the heart of Gaza City during the operation, a former senior Israeli intelligence officer said recently.

The Israeli army’s refusal to be drawn into the maze of tunnels beneath Gaza City was the biggest of Hamas’s many disappointments in the war, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Shalom Harari said during a recent talk at the Ben-Zvi Institute in Jerusalem.

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But despite what Harari called Hamas’s “honey traps,” which could have claimed the lives of 500-700 soldiers, the retired army official claimed that two cabinet ministers urged the army to nevertheless attack the Gaza-based group’s stronghold.

Harari was apparently referencing Economy Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, both of whom lobbied publicly for Israel to go deeper into Gaza to destroy the network of tunnels beneath the enclave.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/700-troops-could-have-died-retaking-gaza-ex-general-says/

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1. Israeli-Palestinian conflict won't resolve itself

One doesn’t have to be a security expert to reach the conclusion that the battle between Israel and Hamas in the past summer ended in a draw at the most.

Let me just mention the dry figures: Fifty-one days of fighting, 4,258 rockets fired at Israeli targets, 735 Iron Dome interceptions, 5,226 airstrikes, 32 destroyed tunnels, 74 dead on the Israeli side and about 2,200 dead on the Palestinian side.

Over the weekend, we received a reminder that shouldn’t surprise anyone either: A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council. At the same time, Hamas is continuing its preparations for the next round of the bloody conflict: The rocket manufacturing lathe-shops are working, and offensive tunnels are being dug into Israel.

The Netanyahu government's spokespeople are offering no surprises either: Minister Gilad Erdan promised that there would be a response, and Israel Air Force planes attacked Hamas targets on Saturday.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4606065,00.html