Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman recently received another lesson on how complex the situation in Gaza actually is. Although he has been prone to declare that he is in favor of toppling the Hamas regime or assassinating its leader, he now realizes that any attempt to resolve the problem of Hamas with a single blow is not only destined to fail, but would actually exacerbate the situation for Israel.
A Qassam rocket fired from Gaza at the town of Sderot on Oct. 5 landed near a school in the city center. The blast caused damage to some houses and cars and terrified local residents. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with restraint. Artillery shells were fired at open areas in Gaza, and the air force conducted minimal bombing runs just to fulfill its duty to respond. Prior to that, a rocket had been fired at Sderot, on Aug. 21, two and a half months after Liberman assumed the post of defense minister, and in response, the IDF attacked dozens of targets associated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. At the time, senior defense officials called it the air force’s most extensive response in Gaza since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
