“We announce that the calm between us and the Zionist enemy has finished entirely and it will not be renewed as a result of the occupation’s denial of its fundamental conditions and obligations.” So stated Hamas’s “armed wing,” the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades this morning.
The ceasfire really ended before that. As we have documented at Palestinian Rocket Report, Palestinian groups fired dozens of rockets at Israel throughout the Tahdiyeh, or calm. Earlier this week, before the ceasefire’s end, Hamas fired ten rockets into Israel. Yesterday, they fired a few more projectiles and shot at Israeli farmers.
That Hamas is back to terroriziing Israel’s South is not a surprise. The ceasefire was simply kicking the can down the road. To maintain even a shred of credibility, the United Nations will eventually have to address this problem. More importantly, Israel must take action against Hamas. This means more than intercepting missiles in mid-air. Neutralizing the rocket threat almost certainly neccessitates a large-scale ground invasion.
