Early this morning a rocket from Gaza was fired near Ashkelon, in southern Israel. This is the first rocket to break the ceasefire following Operation Pillar of Defense in late November.

Although no one was injured, the strike sends a clear message from the military wing of Fatah, which issued a statement claiming responsibility for the rocket:

Liberty will be achieved through sacrifice. We must fight the enemy with all means necessary. The resistance will continue.

Meanwhile, Palestinians have been rioting and demonstrating for several days in Gaza and the West Bank, upset over the death of Arafat Jaradat, a Palestinian prisoner arrested for injuring an Israeli last Monday. This rocket surely ups the ante.

Israel has responded by tightening border controls in the region. From The New York Times:

After the rocket fire Tuesday, Israel shut Kerem Shalom, the crossing through which commercial goods enter Gaza from Israel, and closed its Erez border crossing except for medical, humanitarian and “exceptional” cases, according to a statement from the military.

IDF soldiers examine a meters-deep smuggling tunnel in Gaza (Photo: IDF)

Elliott Abrams, former National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, calls our attention to the reopening of smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza and says the world isn’t paying enough attention.

Unless the tunnels are blocked and the border between Egyptian Sinai and Gaza is policed, another Gaza war surely lies ahead. President Morsi and the Egyptian military must make a decision about this soon, and American lawmakers should keep this in mind as they review military aid to Egypt.

Read more at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Image taken from the southern Isreali town of Sderot, looking into the Gaza Strip (Photo credit: JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Writing in National Review, Charles Krauthammer points the finger at the obvious suspect: “Because Hamas considers all of Israel occupied, illegitimate, a cancer, a crime against humanity”:

Hamas first killed Jews with campaigns of suicide bombings. After Israel built a nearly impenetrable fence, it went to rockets fired indiscriminately at civilians in populated areas.

What did Hamas hope to gain from this latest round of fighting, which it started with a barrage of about 150 rockets into Israel? To formally translate Hamas’s recent strategic gains into a new, more favorable status quo with Israel. It works like this:

Hamas’s new strength comes from two sources. First, its new rocketry, especially the Fajr-5, smuggled in from Iran, which can reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, putting 50 percent of Israel’s population under its guns.

(Photo: Ashernet)

For those with an abiding sense that Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense didn’t do much more than buy an uncertain amount of quiet time, you’re not alone. Max Boot writes in Commentary that this ceasefire is a respite, not a resolution.

“The second Gaza war–just like the first one in 2008-2009–resolved nothing. Both sides will rearm and, even in the best case, are likely to resume hostilities at some point in the future. The only question is whether we will see a few days of peace or a few years. But it is hard to imagine any other outcome, unless Israel were willing to reoccupy the Gaza Strip–which it is not.”

It’s not very upbeat, but Israel’s friends should be aware: we’ll be back to Gaza sooner or later.

November 24

7:20pm - IDF officer hurt by mortar fire dies. Prayers for the loved ones of Lieutenant (res.) Boris Yarmulnik, who paid the ultimate price serving his country. Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren: “We, the people of Israel, will remember him and pray that his memory be blessed forever.”

November 23

10:59am -“Israel Did Everything it Could to Avoid Civilian Casualties” — a great interview with Col. Richard Kemp, former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan.

8:41am - A reflection from Rabbi Jonathan Greenberg: The Broken Discourse of This Conflict.

November 22

8:53pm – And Max Boot, writing in Commentary: Gaza treaty “A respite, not a resolution.”

8:47pm - JPost: ”Washington is urging Israel not to allow construction in the area known as E-1 between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim as a possible response to the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition next week at the UN.”

8:02pm – Must read: Thanksgiving reflections from Israeli blogger Yaccov Lozowick.

9:29am – IDF spokesperson Avital Leibovich tweets, “Happy Thanksgiving!! In #Israel we are thankful for an (almost) rocket free night.” As are friends of Israel everywhere. As we in the US give thanks today, let’s also pray for true and lasting peace. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone — we’re grateful for your continued support and concern for Israel and her people.

November 21

2:50pm – Check out the IDF’s Ceasefire Agreement page, complete with a run-down of the actions and successes of Operation Pillar of Defense.

2:30pm – An update from Reuters, via Haaretz: “Gaza militants fire 12 rockets into Israel during hour after cease-fire was announced. The rockets landed in open areas and caused no damage or casualties.  (Reuters)”

1:05pm – Just five minutes after the official ceasefire was declared, Haaretz reports that four grad rockets were fired toward Be’er Sheva. One was…