IDF begins deploying reservists into Gaza as part of ground op

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Haaretz

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday began deploying reservist troops to the Gaza Strip, for the first time since Israel began its offensive on the Hamas-ruled coastal territory 16 days ago.

The government announced a week ago Saturday that it had approved call-up of tens of thousands of reservist soldiers. The announcement was made almost simultaneously with the launch of the Gaza ground incursion, aimed at halting rocket fire on Israel's southern communities.

The government ordered the armed forces "to draft the necessary reservists, on a scale of tens of thousands of troops." Nearly 10,000 reservists had already been called up in a previous order by the defense establishment the week before.
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Meanwhile, IDF troops continued to surround Gaza City while the Israel Air Force launched a fierce attack on some 20 smuggling networks in the southern Gaza Strip.


Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054531.html

[tekisui]

1. I read that the Israel had approved calling up an unlimited number

of reservist. They are going for the long haul.

[Idealism]

2. They have plenty of numbers to draw on

With compulsory military service and all. Hell they could pull a Bush and start calling up retired 55 year-old vets to supplement the ranks...

[Barack_America]

3. And yet Olmert has declared that the "mission" is almost over.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

So which is it? Is Olmert lying or is he no longer calling the shots?

[GoesTo11]

4. Olmert is hoping to pressure Hamas into accepting a ceasefire

He believes they would be more likely to do that if the alternative is for Israel to escalate. He believes that this is a more credible argument if Israel is ready to escalate in terms of reserve callups and other preparations.

[Cronopio]

5. This is sounding more like America's evil adventures in Iraq all the time.

I wonder: Did Bush learn this game from the Israelis or did they learn it from him?

A chicken-and-egg conundrum, I suspect.

[pjt7]

6. Are they going to march

past Gaza & invade Egypt?

[Cronopio]

7. Only if they want to start Armageddon.

They're cutting it close with what they're doing right now.

That's another similarity: The US didn't march past Iraq into Syria or Iran. At least not overtly or officially.

[aquart]

8. A nation of 7 million invading one of 81 million?

In your mind's map, is Israel VERY large and all the other MidEast countries cowering and tiny?

You might want to work on correcting that. For instance, LOOK AT A REAL MAP.

Calling up the reservists basically means Israel stops until the conflict is over. These are all the people who have day jobs.