YNET reports
Israel’s intention appears to be to continue crushing Hamas from the air for at least two or three more days before the cabinet decides, if at all, to launch a ground operation and what kind of operation.
Until then, the decision to bomb entire areas in the northern Strip after warning the residents indicates a move from tweezers to a 5-kilogram hammer. The goal is not just a military one – moving from individual destruction to wholesale destruction – but is also aimed at signaling to Hamas that Israel is climbing one more step up the ladder, that “we control the escalation,” as a very senior officer has said.
I wonder if the reason that Israel is not invading Gaza is perhaps they have intelligence that Hamas has some chemical WMDs (obtained after the fall of Saddam) that would be used on warheads in case of a full invasion.
With IDF troops on the ground, Israel could not immediately retaliate with nukes, and if she ordered a withdrawal, this would signal to the world the likelihood of an impending Israeli nuclear strike (a small bomb near Khan Younis likely would not require evacuation of Sderot or Ashkelon), which would allow the world to threaten Israel with being nuked to oblivion if she uses it (I would nominate France as the most likely villain in that role.)