GAZA – AT 12:14 P.M. ET:   This has been the deadliest day thus far in Israel's incursion into Gaza, an incursion aimed at stopping the rocket fire into Israel.  From The New York Times: 

GAZA CITY — As Israeli troops and war planes bombarded Gaza, both sides reported death tolls that made clear Sunday was the deadliest day so far in the war. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported 87 Palestinians had died and the Israeli military said 13 soldiers were dead.

The fighting signaled that what had begun as a limited ground invasion by Israel had moved into a more extensive and costlier phase for both sides.

Most of the Palestinians were killed in an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City called Shejaiya. For the Palestinians, it was the deadliest episode since July 8, when Israel began its offensive, first from the air, which was intended to curb rocket fire against its cities and the danger of infiltration through tunnels running under the border from Gaza into Israel. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that more than 300 people were injured in Shejaiya. Tolls were not available from the refugee camps in central Gaza, where fleeing residents reported a similar Israeli advance, with artillery.

COMMENT:  What is interesting here is the lack of support being given to Hamas, which runs Gaza, by the Arab nations.  Yes, the Arabs issue the standard condemnations of Israel, but the coolness is evident.  Hamas, a radical terrorist group aligned with Iran, is not very popular among Arab nations.  And indeed even Western nations are giving Israel more leeway than usual, recognizing the strength of Israel's case. 

John Kerry will be in the region tomorrow, and of course he's already messed up.  He was caught criticizing the Israelis in a private phone call, just before being interviewed on Fox, when he didn't realize there was an open microphone near him.  Nice going, John.  You'll really have credibility in Jerusalem tomorrow.

The Obamans are truly the gang that can't shoot straight. 

July 20, 2014