A Volcanic Eruption of Violence - As Natural as a Natural Disaster

"Gaza: Rocket Fire and Israeli Strike Disrupt Cease-Fire"
A19 (World Briefing), Wednesday 11/6/08
By Reuters

This brief article informs the reader of Hamas rocket attacks against Israel "after Israeli forces killed at least five Palestinian militants in an eruption of violence that disrupted a four-month-old truce."

The lack of context in this article is truly appalling and appears to breach basic journalistic standards. This was not simply an "eruption of violence" as the article puts it, part of some ambiguous cycle of violence. As the NYT itself reported the day before, Israel had entered Gaza on Monday to destroy a tunnel Hamas built near the Israeli border, which was to be used to abduct Israeli soldiers, in a situation similar to the kidnapping of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit back in June 2006.

In response, Hamas launched mortar shells against Israeli forces and into Israeli territory. To neutralize this threat, Israel launched an airstrike which killed four militants of which the Reuters article speaks.

Only in this light can the reader truly begin to understand why Hamas launched a salvo of Qassam rockets (46 in total) against Israel, specifically against civilian targets.

To conclude, these recent skirmishes were not part of some amorphous "eruption of violence." In reality, Israel had discovered imminent Hamas plans to abduct Israeli soldiers and deemed it necessary to defuse the threat. Israel did not wish to disrupt the ceasefire, but Hamas' exploitation of the lull in fighting to perpetrate more abductions forced its hand.

Then, in response, Hamas indiscriminately fired rockets into the Western Negev of Israel, reaching as far as Ashkelon. And Israel's to blame? Really?