…. and now we know why Kerry was so insistent on a cease fire.  Hamas was getting their asses kicked, they need time to recover and reconstitute.

(TJP)  Operating behind enemy lines in Gaza during the conflict with Hamas, the elite Maglan unit has attacked dozens of terrorists cells that fired on the IDF, destroyed areas used to launch rockets at Israel, and killed and injured 40 terrorists in recent days.
A senior source from the unit revealed that its members have targeted Hamas gunmen waiting in ambush for the IDF’s Ground Forces, striking the threats right before Israeli forces pass by the ambushes.
The Maglan unit has detected and destroyed forward Hamas posts and rocket launchers. It has detected a cross-border underground attack tunnel leading into Israel from Gaza, and found 20 bomb-laden, booby-trapped homes in Gaza. The unit also uncovered a very large quantity of weapons, and enemy intelligence files in raids.

The source said the unit is operating in a heavily built up area, characterized by residential buildings, orchards surrounded by buildings, and tunnels. Hamas has planted its military assets deep inside the very fabric of Gazan civilian life, he said. “Hamas operatives and area commanders, as well as their rocket cell members, keeps one part of their home for normal family life. A second part of the home is the command center, or the start of a tunnel. Daily life and military infrastructure are totally interwoven,” the source said.
“This is the source of the complexity we face in our combat. We must overcome the challenge of differentiating between Hamas and the civilian population,” he added. The Maglan unit is meeting the challenge, detecting a series of Hamas assets, he said.
The source added that in recent days, a recognizable wave of demoralization has washed over Hamas’s combat battalions. “They simply escape, leaving behind weapons and suicide bomb vests that were laid out for battle. This morning we stormed a position, and they just weren’t there. I don’t see a determined enemy. We have encountered stronger pockets of fighting in the past. But now, I would not give them a high grade for fighting spirit.”
Hamas built a network of tunnels that begin a few kilometers away from the Israeli border, and pass under the frontier, the source said, in a bid to enable dozens of terrorists to infiltrate the country. In response, the IDF has used a wide array of firepower and ground units to tackle the challenge, employing a rapid maneuver to “shatter the enemy and deny it freedom of operation in closed areas, where it is based,” he stated.
“We move in as quickly as possible, engage in close combat, and prevent the enemy from using its tunnels to enter our territory,” the source said.  He recalled seizing large numbers of weapons, suicide bomb belts, and projectile launchers in recent raids.
“Hamas has turned tunneling into a national profession. They lean on highly-skilled engineers to do this. We’re dealing with all of these threats through close-range combat,” the source added.   (read more)