Operation "Oferet Yetzuka" (Cast Lead) reached is in its 18th day. Israeli ground troops, which have not encountered strong opposition from Hamas, occupy strategic points inside the Gaza Strip but have stopped short of entering Gaza City and Rafah. Experts in Israel speculate that Hamas has suffered serious losses from Israeli air strikes, which have hampered its ability to oppose the Israeli ground troops.
Egyptian and Hamas leaders met earlier this week to discuss an Egyptian-initiated cease-fire. Hamas insists that all passes to Gaza be open immediately, something that Israel is not willing to accept for fear that Hamas would use the passes to smuggle arms into Gaza. However, experts now believe that Hamas has suffered severe enough losses that it will not insist on this issue.
Israel refuses to negotiate with Hamas, which it deems a terrorist organization. Israeli Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi appeared yesterday in the Israeli parliament to give an update on the fighting. "The IDF is making every effort to prevent civilians from getting hurt, while Hamas cynically makes use of them. There are testimonies that Hamas is preventing people’s evacuation. We located schools and houses that were booby-trapped by Hamas while civilians were still living in them," said Ashkenazi.
One major goal of the operation is to stop Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli cities. Stopping the smuggling of bombs from Egypt into Gaza is also a key objective. The Israeli leadership is weighing whether they should take of control the border with Egypt to stop the smuggling, or try to reach an understanding with Egypt, that Egypt will take responsibility to stop the smuggling.
Experts in Israel speculate that the Israel will not take the control of the border, as it is a task that would take several months. Israeli representative Amos Gilad is waiting for Egypt and Hamas to reach an understanding before heading to Egypt to negotiate a ceasefire.
