Ugh. Israeli armor lined up in Zikim. 40,000 Hamas fighters on the other side.

[underpants]

BREAKING: This is looking pretty terrifying.

Israeli forces have lined up along the Gaza border in Zikim, in preparation for a ground offensive that could be taking place later tonight or tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that at least 40,000 Hamas fighters are there awaiting the offensive, and hospitals in Gaza city still have not been entirely evacuated.

The Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City has been given what’s seems to be one final order for evacuation. They’ve given the hospital 1 more hour to completely evacuate.

What will come of all this? Will Israel be able to accomplish their mission without a major loss of civilian lives?

Link to tweet

?s=46&t=3VBm1LJ8j8qLp6JTs_8J2A

[Joe Cool]

1. Why is Ed not commenting about how this is entirely Hamas' fault?

[AntivaxHunters]

3. Because that's an opinion

And he's not being a pundit but a journalist with tweeting this.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

6. You spelled grifter wrong

But that’s what happens when you rely on Twitter personalities for news.

[Sympthsical]

8. This cracked me the hell up

What is this . . .



L.O.L. Work that Twitter, get that bag.

His wikipedia page is wild. Social media influencer, promoter of NFTs, and his "journalism" apparently entails hanging around Twitter all day? No seriously, it's in his wiki entry.

Fucking hysterical.

Journalism!

[AntivaxHunters]

9. Most people get their news on social media

Newspapers died years ago

[AZSkiffyGeek]

11. Most people can also tell a grifter from a reliable source

Or is that something they don't teach doctors? Surely one of the thirty people running your account has heard of the Krassenstein brothers...

[sarcasmo]

37. 70 million were duped by a grifter.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

32. I get my news from a number of sources including MSNBC

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[SickOfTheOnePct]

7. That Hamas brought this on

Is an opinion.

Ok. Wow. But ok - you do you.

[Amishman]

10. 5k missiles and 1k dead is more than an opinion

Hamas broke the uneasy peace, Hamas uses the Palestinians as human shields, and innocent people will die because the evil of Hamas.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

13. I agree 100%

I was responding to a poster that states otherwise.

[AntivaxHunters]

12. Failing to look at the entire conflict

And only hyperfocusing on one incident among many is exactly the problem.

The reality is this has been happening for 75 years.

Killing innocent people is wrong. Sadly some only want to acknowledge one side doing it when both are. And reality is the deaths of innocents is heavily weighted on the Palestinian side & it's not close.

That's a fact.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

15. Was Israel massing in the border of Gaza

Before last Saturday? Was Israel cutting off water and power to Gaza prior to last Saturday? Was Israel bombing Gaza prior to last Saturday?

If not, then what pushed them to it?

The Hamas terrorists attacks did.

Every drop of blood, on both sides, is on the hands of Hamas.

[AntivaxHunters]

17. You aren't understanding the conflict

Once again you are focused on one single situation.
You don't understand that the attack from Hamas was in retaliation for the innocent Palestinian people the IDF has killed & the treatment of them as a peiple. And they're treated that way because that's in retaliation for things like suicide bombers wearing a det vest & blowing up innocent people in a cafe which is in retaliation for....

On & on..

Rinse & repeat.

Think of this through a lens of gang style warfare.
Mexican cartels with Sinaloa Cartlel vs Juarez Cartel.
Hells Angels vs The Bandidos
The Bloods vs The Crips

Endless eye for an eye.
That's exactly what this conflict is.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

20. You can drop your patronizing tone

Just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean I don’t understand the long history of the conflict, and it’s insulting for you to assume otherwise.

What Hamas did last weekend was an atrocity, and the fact that you insist on bothsiderism in defense of it is…that’s as far as I’ll go.

[AntivaxHunters]

23. You can disagree all you want

But the facts are the facts.

Absolutely agreed on last Saturday.

[Torchlight]

25. I don't beieve that rejecting your premise illustrates a lack of understanding.

Indeed, after the series of false information presented as truth and then back--tracked or deleted, I'd call it a better understanding of the conflict.

[EndlessWire]

33. No, it's not the problem.

Two soldiers fighting in an incident is one thing, probably happening many times. But launching missiles and coming across the border to massacre people in their homes is on a whole other level.

I'm sorry, but if you launch a missile at me with a clear intent to kill me or mine, it's war. There's no way that Hamas can be allowed to do this. Why didn't those innocent people get rid of Hamas? So, Hamas picked on innocent civilians and babies, for G-d's sake, and are now reaping the wrath of the survivors, who are obviously more empowered to take care of business.

I know, here's a thought, release the hostages and stop shelling. It would stop the war.

And, both sides aren't doing it. BOTH SIDES DID NOT START A MISSILE ATTACK WHILE BUTCHERING INNOCENT KIDS AND THEIR FAMILIES. That's on Hamas. And that's not close.

[Act_of_Reparation]

47. "Why didn't those innocent people get rid of Hamas?"

With all the shit our government does abroad, I wouldn't pull at that thread.

[BannonsLiver]

14. Sorta like Krystal Ball is a journalist.

Lulz

[AntivaxHunters]

18. Where's Mehdi Hasan?

[BannonsLiver]

21. He's locked in a conference room at MSNBC

[AntivaxHunters]

22. Mehdi Hasan is now a "she"?

You should probably fix that because misgendering people isn't cool

[BannonsLiver]

28. Cable news is lowbrow so I don't watch it.

Certainly not up to date on all the personnel drama (proudly). Anyway, HE is locked in a conference room at MSNBC. 😂

[AntivaxHunters]

29. I don't blame you

[DemocratSinceBirth]

43. Because he's a social rage farmer who monetizes rage.

[Croney]

2. May civilians escape, and may it end quickly.

&pp=ygUpaW5kaWFuYSBqb25lcyBzaG9vdHMgZ3V5IHdpdGggc3dvcmQgbWVtZSA%3D

[Lovie777]

4. Hezbollah and probably other terrorist groups are waiting as well.................

[EX500rider]

5. Yes, most of these groups:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/major-palestinian-terror-organizations

[roamer65]

16. I wonder how many anti-tank weapons Hamas has smuggled into Gaza.

Sadly, this may get very nasty very quickly.

I hope the civilians get out of the way.

[WarGamer]

27. Did you see the video the other day...

Of a Hamas soldier firing an ATGM at an Israeli border checkpoint?

Safe to assume that Hamas now has ATGM's... this isn't 20 years ago where Western armor could laugh about RPG fire.

[roamer65]

30. Not surprised.

[EX500rider]

39. Let's hope most of the attacking Merkava tanks have the Trophy system installed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophy_(countermeasure)

[yagotme]

19. I'm having trouble with some numbers...

2.1 mil in Gaza. 1/2 are kids, so about 1 mil adults. Approx 1/2 women, don't believe many Hamas fighters are women, also subtract sick/infirm, so lets say 400,000 eligible combatants. 40,000 Hamas in one spot to repel Israel. That's 10%, right? Not counting other spots in Gaza occupied by Hamas (tunnels, rocket sites, command bunkers, other resistance spots on border). So, possibly 15-20% of Palestinians in Gaza are actually Hamas, more or less. Just doesn't sound like a "small, fringe group" anymore, does it??? Kids don't vote/have control. Do women??? I'd bet not. So, 1/2 of 1/2 actually have some kind of say, which is a little over 500,000. From our previous estimates, close to 100,000 belong to/are swayed by Hamas. And, they're armed, and if you don't like them, you don't stick around long. Make sense to anyone else? Am I off??? (Not my rocker, I already know that...)

[The Magistrate]

26. Simple Arithmetic Is The Beginning Of Wisdom, Sir

I would suggest the fashionable employment of 'children' to indicate everything from newborns to people who've been driving a year or two complicates the matter. What proportion of the young people are in their mid to late teens would be a factor. There are certainly persons of that age under arms in Hamas formations.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

31. I've seen it fluctuate

Sometimes it is “teen” sometimes “child” and sometimes “under 20”. Child seems to be the word of choice for the anti-Israel crowd.
I wonder how young some of the terrorists really are.

[yagotme]

36. Probably pre-teen for some.

9 or so in extreme. Depends on whether or not they can readily carry a rifle/explosives.

[yagotme]

35. Yes, I understand.

I was trying to lean more to the pro-Palestinian line of thinking, which still translates to a lot of Hamas. Go down to 12-14 y/o, just bumps the numbers even more.

[former9thward]

40. Women are involved in Hamas

The Hamas movement is keen to encourage women’s participation in military and social life, depending on women to mobilize support.

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2015/02/women--role-hamas-gaza-leadership-social-mobilization.html#ixzz8GKB0kUu6

[yagotme]

41. So, mostly political/community organizers:

"On the military level, Article 17 of the 1988 Hamas Covenant stipulates that the role of women in the battle to liberate Palestine is limited to the education of children and support for men.

It was not easy for women to participate in Hamas’ military activity, owing to Sharia bans, other religious constraints and social norms. For women to be trained by men and leave the house for long hours is not acceptable in much of Palestinian society.

Hamas’ perspective on women in active military roles was altered in January 2004, when Reem Riyashi perpetrated a suicide attack against Israel at the Erez border crossing in northern Gaza.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced in April 2007 the formation of the first female battalion within their ranks, where women receive military training, including physical and weapons training. This development in women’s military role in Hamas means that the movement has moved beyond the tenets of its founding covenant.

Hamas greatly relies on women today, especially when it comes to mobilizing the people and encouraging them to support the movement, particularly during elections and festivals. Yet, women are not being rewarded for their efforts on the ground by advancing to leadership positions within Hamas, given a number of legal and social constrictions. This means that women are progressing in Hamas slowly but steadily."

So, in accordance with my original numbers, actual battlefield participants would only increase slightly, per this article, unless Hamas is incorporating more women into fighting roles recently.

[WarGamer]

24. The big question will be....

What weapons does Hamas have?

Western military forces have traditionally done well vs insurgents with AK47's and RPG's...

But I've already seen video of Hamas recently using modern ATGM's which are capable of taking out tanks and AV's...

The entire world has learned from the War in Ukraine... does Hamas have armed hobbyist drones?

Is Gaza full of IED's?

We know they have tunnels...

This COULD get incredibly bloody.

[yagotme]

42. AK variants, M-16 variants, RPG's,

rockets, and according to recent news reports, anti-tank rockets. IED's are easy with a supply of explosives. Guaranteed invading forces will find tons of them. And, don't forget, paragliders...

[Trumpdumper]

34. My money is on the Israelis. May they annihilate those assholes.

[Johnny2X2X]

38. 40,000 Hamas fighters

I hope this is true. I hope Hamas fighters are there waiting to be killed. I fear though that the bulk of them have fled with the innocent civilians. The only way this ends is with the destruction of Hamas, if 40,000 of them are waiting to fight, it's the best way to end this as quickly as possible. 40,000 would be the bulk of thier membership.

[Model35mech]

44. I expect the IDF will push its attack thru human shields

Netanyahu and leaders of the IDF have been saying destroying human shields is necessary to take the fight to the cowardly HAMAS hiding behind them.

I expect huge casualty numbers for Palestinian civilians. Iran will use this as justification for it's own escalation. Don't forget that Iran is a supplier of war drones to Russia. They have the technology to attack, what isn't clear and is doubted by western analysts is whether they have enough drones to exhaust Israel's supply of anti-aircraft munitions. If they do, things are going to get uglier for Israeli civilians, too.

[Model35mech]

46. Yes. It's been tit-for-tat claims of 'retaliation' for more than 70 years

And that number of years is just a reference to the entire span of my life over which these things have been a too regular occurrence.

Depending on what party of the nth part is claiming the necessity for retaliation and 'self-protection' the tits and the tats are completely interchangeable as to being provocations or retaliations.