Thursday marked the 103rd time a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip targeted Israeli civilians who seek peace. But Thursday also marked the point at which disagreements over the merits of a ground assault became a thing of the past. This issue is going to be a source of heated debate once again when the dust settles; only then will the political debate resume in the Knesset, in think tanks, in academia. But the first, pivotal step was taken on Thursday. A timeline of the current flare-up attests to the great lengths Israel went to avoid it: A terrorist cell in Hebron kidnaps three Jewish teens and kills them; the Israel Defense Forces launches an operation to find the captives; as a result, Hamas begins firing on Israel from the Gaza Strip; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon go out of their way to make the cabinet exercise restraint, saying "calm will be met with calm," but when this gets translated into the Arabic of the Middle East, it is interpreted as a sign of weakness; having exhausted all other options, Israel decides enough is enough, and ultimately this results in Operation Protective Edge and the ground assault. On Thursday, senior defense officials said that despite the heavy blows Hamas has been dealt, it still wants to create the false impression that it has achieved strategic parity with Israel. But it is Israel that has had the upper hand, and it is the Gaza Strip's residents who have had to suffer. The Hamas negotiators who arrived in Cairo for cease-fire talks this week walked into the room with a smile on their faces, as if saying, "We've won!" The Israeli troops across the Gaza Strip border have had to stay put for 10 days, awaiting a green light. Eventually the order was made: "Go, Go!" the troops were told over the radio. Netanyahu, Ya'alon and Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz decided to do only what's necessary. They have left many questions unanswered: Will Israel target only the tunnels? What is Israel going to do if the rocket fire continues after the tunnels have been dealt with? Will the IDF manage to reach Hamas' leaders, who have been hiding behind their children and family members in hardened bunkers? This maneuver is going to inform many of those who have advocated more cuts in defense, who have said Israeli is unlikely to launch ground operations anytime soon. The tunneling activity that has taken place along the Gaza Strip border attests to the lack of attention Israeli policy makers have paid to this issue. The Foreign Ministry should also shift into emergency mode. It should gauge the reaction on the world stage as the footage comes in from the operation. But above all, Israel must listen to sounds emanating from the presidential palace in Cairo. Israelis are now preoccupied with the well-being of their uniformed men and women. They are our finest; every Israeli wishes them well and hopes they return safely from the front. It is us vs. them; it is us vs. those who besmirch our pilots and the others who watch over us. We think of those who have a flak jacket and who have put on a steel helmet, who have their finger on the trigger. We watch as they march into the night, as hey go into battle. What comes to mind is Yitzhak Shalev's famous poem from 1957: "My God, who kisses the warriors."
