The Israeli rescue service Zaka says its paramedics removed more than 260 bodies from a music festival that came under attack by Hamas militants.
The total figure of bodies found is expected to be higher, as other paramedic teams were also working in the area and Zaka added that the bodies “haven’t all been collected yet”.
Early on Saturday morning, Hamas targeted Nova music festival, a techno rave in the desert near the border with Gaza.
Videos shared on social media and by Israeli news outlets showed dozens of festival-goers running through an open field as gunshots rang out. Many hid in nearby fruit orchards or were gunned down as they fled.
My guess is the operation being carried out is to close the border with Egypt to establish full access control in and out of Gaza. Any other ops being carried out will either be hostage rescue, targeted attempts at black bagging participants and leaders of the attacks, or causing general mayhem to keep Hamas from being able to coordinate with itself for long enough to mount a counteroperation.
The end goal will be twofold, 1) gain customs control over all points of entry to the strip to neuter Hamas’ ability to keep importing rockets and the parts to make their own, 2) sweep the strip for the leaders of the attack for as public and humiliating a comupence as can be legally dropped on them, and probably beyond that too. This attack put a serious black eye on Israel’s hawks claiming they’re the faction for tighter security that will keep the Israeli people safe, Bibi is probably seeing enough red that it’s a sign of officials intervening against his worst reflexes that we’re not witnessing a Srebenica scenario in Gaza right now.
They may move to tactics like that eventually but for now it’s artillery and airstrikes. Netanyahu threatened to bomb Gaza to rubble and it looks like he’s carrying that out.
I don’t see anything targeted about the current retaliation; what we’re hearing and seeing now is most consistent with a scorched earth policy.