End Of The Line For Hamas?

It is late at night in the Middle East, and dawn is not far off. At the moment, as far as I know, a ground assault into Gaza by Israel is still only an option, but it is getting closer to becoming a reality. Indications are that Hamas may finally have bitten off more than they can chew. Support for their endeavors is in short supply amongst recognized nations while fringe factions cheer them on enthusiastically.

Quite noticeable has been the silence of Syria and Jordan, and even Hezbollah has been stationary and mute on the issue. Fatah is cheering on the impending onslaught and possible demise of their rivals - Hamas - and Egypt has been tepidly supportive of the Israeli position in this fracas. I say tepidly merely because they have not been boisterous in support, but their actions may speak louder than words. That, I'll get back to shortly.

Israel is poised - and rightly so - to eliminate Hamas' capability to launch missiles against her. "Eliminate" is not used casually here; Israel, this time out, is not going to simply degrade the abilities of Hamas military options, they plan to destroy them.

Hamas now has missiles that can reach Tel Aviv in their bunkers and what remains of their several hundred miles of tunnels under the border to Gaza. Israel's air strikes have demolished many of those tunnels, but they will need to push in on the ground to finish the job. Here's where it gets interesting.

Egypt has cancelled leave for their military and is amassing on the border with Gaza. There can be no other reason than to stop the flight of Hamas once Israel gets serious. Unless they plan on swimming, there will be no other form of egress, and as one can see from the map, Gaza is not that big.

By the time we on the east coast of the United States awake tomorrow, that tiny strip of land could be embroiled in a fierce war. Or, if Israel is as tough and as serious as I believe they are, Hamas could be a memory. I'm hearing Yes's Gates Of Delirium in my head.

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