After a week-long air strike against set targets, the Israeli military sent its ground troops into the Gaza area. Thousands of soldiers moved into Gaza, resulting in the s of at least 4 Palestinians. This move is strongly opposed by many groups and nations, including the United Nations. However, Israel justified its actions by declaring that it is an offensive to halt the missiles hitting Israeli soil on an almost daily basis. Israel hopes to force the Hamas to stop their attacks on Israel by invading their territory, but it has not worked. The Hamas leadership promises to "fight until the last breath" and that "Gaza is your cemetery." Their leadership is determined to continue to resist these Israeli counteroffensives towards Palestinian civilians, and also stated to "fight in the every house, every street, every building."
The other side of this conflict is the humanitarian issue, which was made worse by this offensive. Many UN observers plead with Israel to stop this offensive, as conditions for civilians were bad even before the offensive. The territory needed electricity, food, and water before it began. Now, many fear that electricity would be cut once again, as in previous armed conflicts. In some places, it has already been lost. Others worry that if the conflict prolongs, civilians might die from starvation or thirst. This conflict could affect the Palestinian civilians in many different ways.
In the eye of the Israelis, this is a defensive move, designed to stop attacks on their civilians by overrunning the places where missiles could be launched at Israel. However, the Hamas view this as a move to attempt to conquer the Muslims in the area. I think this conflict needs to be resolved quickly to avoid bloodshed on both Israeli and Palestinian sides. Every missile barrage the Hamas military fires results in a retaliatory bombing that leave more Palestinians than Israelis dead. It also leaves behind a thirst for revenge. An obvious solution I can see is for the Hamas to stop firing missiles; this definitely would cease attacks by the Israelis. However, they must have their own reasons for their rocket attacks. I am not sure which, but I am guessing that they need to show the extremists in their land that things are being done. I think they definitely should stop attacking Israel, because more Palestianian civilians than Israeli civilians are dying because of the rockets. If they can both come to a truce, then there is hope for an Israeli-Palestinian union.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/03/israel.gaza/index.html
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