Crossfire War – Tehran – Gaza – Damascus Watch – West Asia Theatre: Tehran – Damascus – Riyadh – Ramallah – Gaza/Jerusalem – Beirut – Paris – Rome – Cairo; Israeli Tank Unit Forced to Retreat After Hamas-Jihad Ambush in Central Gaza – Four Hour Gunbattle – Israeli Reinforcements Called Up – Countdown Action
Night Watch: GAZA – Tehran’s countdown timetable for this year’s regional war took a major step today with the successful ambush of an Israeli Givati unit of ten tanks as it crossed into central Gaza on a counter-terrorism mission. They were headed for the town of al Bureij and were hit by a bomb trap, which disabled a tank, and an armor plated bulldozer.
Hamas-Jihad gunmen were waiting and a four-hour battle took place and during it, the Israeli unit called for helicopter support after setting down a smokescreen. One Israeli soldier was killed, another was wounded as the two vehicles were withdrawn under fire and the rest of the unit retreated. A second Givat unit arrived and continued the mission, but this is the first time a Hamas-Jihad unit caused an Israeli retreat. [DEBKA]
It is obvious Hamas is now using the newer and more powerful equipment and Tehran has been training and supplying them with during the past year. A year ago, Hamas could not have engaged in an action of this kind. These are also tactics they have been trained to use at camps near Tehran.
It was exactly one year ago today when Hezbollah conducted an ambush of this kind from its bases in southern Lebanon into northern Israel, which forced Jerusalem to respond with a massive counterattack that expanded last year’s war into Lebanon after the war began in late June with a Hamas action that captured the Israeli soldier. Now Hamas is equipped with weaponry that Tehran used to only provide Hezbollah, because now is the year the preparations are over and (f)allout regional war begins, which will force Israel to use some of its nuclear arsenal when Hezbollah launches some of its long range rockets from Lebanon.
And when Tehran commits some expendable ground forces against Israel the regional impact will be at its maximum, mostly felt in the government of Egypt President Hosni Mubarak who has always refused to cooperate with Iran in any way or with any Islamic government supporting the Jihad because Islamic radicals assassinated Mubarak’s predecessor Anwar al-Sadat in 1981 just two years after the Ayatollah Khomeini established Tehran’s current government. Tehran named a street after the assassin.
However, the call of the Jihad has been heard all over Egypt for quite some time and that will remove Mubarak, but he will not go quietly. I assume at least some of Egypt’s military is loyal to him and therefore he will declare war on Iran.
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