{"id":2633,"date":"2023-05-18T15:07:45","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T12:07:45","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-06-06T10:27:19","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T07:27:19","slug":"behind-the-scenes-of-the-gaza-bombings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/behind-the-scenes-of-the-gaza-bombings\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the scenes of the Gaza bombings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Netanyahu government, criticized for losing its deterrence due to anti-government protests and the normalization process with Iran, aims with the bombing of Gaza to improve its \u201cimage\u201d and revive its coalition on the verge of disintegration before the critical budget vote.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tensions are escalating following Israel\u2019s airstrikes targeting three leaders of the Islamic Jihad Movement. Rockets are being fired from Gaza in response to Israeli attacks. Truce talks have not yet yielded a positive result. why did the Israeli government launch these attacks, which have lasted for two days and bring the risk of all-out war?<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Israel killed three prominent leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, along with their families. The Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip under blockade killed fifteen people, including children, and wounded 22 others. Islamic Jihad has threatened to target the Jewish settlement of Dotan in the occupied West Bank as retaliation for the assault. While the Israeli army continues attacking the Gaza Strip, Palestinian groups have been reacting to these attacks with rocket fire. The number of people killed in the Israeli attacks increased to 25, while 76 people were injured. In a statement made by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it was stated that 333 of the 469 rockets launched from Gaza crossed into Israel and 107 of them fell short in the Gaza Strip. No information was shared about the remaining 29 rockets. It was reported that the air defense system intercepted 153 rockets, while some rockets hit settlements and caused material damage.<\/p>\n

Targeted by Israeli attacks, the Islamic Jihad announced that if Israel continues to bomb houses in the region, retaliatory attacks will be organized in Tel Aviv and the interior of Israel. For its part, Hamas said that the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel were part of the resistance forces\u2019 unified response to the Israeli attacks. In a written statement, Hamas spokesperson Abdullatif al-Qanoo said, \u201cThe joint attacks organized by the resistance forces are part of the process of responding to the massacre carried out by the occupation forces.\u201d Emphasizing that Israel is responsible for the repercussions of its escalating attacks against the Palestinian people, Kanoo said that Israel will pay for its actions.<\/p>\n

Why now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The process that led Israel to these reckless attacks was triggered in early May. Following the death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan on May 2 after 87 days of hunger strike in prison, more than 30 rockets targeting Israel were fired from the Gaza Strip. Israel retaliated by bombing Gaza. One Palestinian was killed and 5 Palestinians were injured in the attacks of Israeli warplanes. Immediately after the airstrikes, a truce was reached between Israel and armed groups in the Gaza Strip on May 3. Reached in one day, the ceasefire lit the criticism that \u201cIsrael has no deterrence\u201d already existed in the country shaken by domestic political debates.<\/p>\n

The argument that the nationwide protests over the Netanyahu-led government\u2019s judicial reform emboldened Israel\u2019s \u201cenemies\u201d was a critique that had been voiced since the anti-government protests began.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Israel\u2019s \u201csworn enemy\u201d Iran\u2019s normalization process with potential allies of Tel Aviv and the progress it has made in its nuclear program have set alarm bells ringing. Having been criticized for bringing the country to the brink of civil war as the \u201cenemy\u201d continued its advance, Netanyahu announced a ceasefire within 24 hours of the tension in early May, prompting criticism not only from the opposition but also from within the government and even from his own Likud party.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to restore deterrence, we should have woken up this morning and heard how many terrorists were eliminated tonight in attacks,\u201d Likud MP Danny Danon said on Twitter. Almog Cohen, a member of the far-right Israeli Jewish Power party, also posted on social media, \u201cThe excuses are over. Now is the time to strike hard at those who seek to harm us.\u201d The Jewish Power Party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, announced a boycott of the Israeli parliament sessions.<\/p>\n

\u2018Israel\u2019s deterrence capacity has eroded\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In an analysis published in early May, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), which reflects the views of Israel\u2019s military bureaucracy, stated that \u201cThese operations against Israel, coupled with a series of prior incidents, have combined to erode Israel\u2019s deterrence capabilities vis-\u00e0-vis Hezbollah, which is working tirelessly to improve the rules of the game within the framework of the deterrence equation that has evolved in the aftermath of the Second Lebanon War.\u201d The following as indicators of this erosion is listed:<\/p>\n