Free Republic

In an otherwise excellent article on the Hamas terror tunnel network in Gaza, the Jerusalem Post buries the lede. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier in the field told the Post that while Hamas fighters offered fierce resistance when the ground operation began, now Hamas operatives are fleeing, abandoning their positions, leaving behind weapons and other material that the IDF is using to expand its assault on the terror group. The source added that in recent days, a recognizable wave of demoralization has washed over Hamas's combat battalions. "They simply escape, leaving behind weapons and suicide bomb vests that were...

I think the picture above was intended to be humorous. It's not. It really happened. Parents of wounded soldiers spoke to Kol Yisrael on Tuesday and shared some of the disturbing stories they had heard from their sons. They said soldiers have repeatedly seen young children in Sheijaya, Gaza, be sent out into the streets with guns to try to attack IDF troops. One parent reported that terrorists had run at IDF soldiers with a gun in one hand and a baby in the other, apparently in hopes that the soldiers would see the child and hold their fire....

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has uploaded a video which shows how the IDF calls off Gaza airstrikes upon realizing that there are innocent civilians in the area. In this video, showing a planned airstrike from Thursday, the airstrike was cancelled when the pilot realized that children were near his target. During the current escalation, Hamas has openly boasted about the "success" of its strategy of using civilians as human shields, and the IDF has published extensive evidence of the practice. Hamas has been encouraging as many noncombatants as possible to "protect" its positions with their bodies.

As in 2009, Hamas is using Shifa Hospital to hide its leadership, and as in 2012, it is using the hospital as part of its war effort (link in Hebrew) (Hat Tip: Shaul). This one is only three short paragraphs, so I will translate it and then ask a question. A journalist source who is close to security sources in the Middle East says 'Hamas' leadership is taking advantage of the underground structures underneath the Shifa Central Hospital in Gaza as a hideout for commanders and Hamas leaders to protect them against attack by the Israel Air Force. "In...

Following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on July 8, 2014: Interviewer: "Are people still going up to the rooftops?" Ayad Abu Rida (Reporter) : "Witnesses told us that there is a large gathering, and people are still going to the Kawari family house, in order to prevent the Zionist occupation’s warplanes from targeting it." Interviewer: "What is your comment about this? People are reverting to the (human-shield) method, which proved very successful in the days of martyr Nizar Riyan…" Sami Abu Zuhri: "This attests to the character of our...