Israel and Hamas are already essentially in a state of war, and yet the mainstream media in the United States has been virtually silent about this conflict.  For the past 6 months, Hamas has been conducting violent demonstrations along the border with Israel, and last Friday 130 protesters got shot as the violence escalated wildly out of control.  Over the past several weeks, Israel has been enduring an endless barrage of incendiary devices and rockets, and the Israelis appear to be out of patience at this point.  On Wednesday night, the Israeli military hit eight different Hamas targets in the Gaza strip.  The following comes from Haaretz...  

The Israeli military struck eight Hamas targets in three different military compounds in the Gaza Strip late Wednesday night following the firing of a rocket into southern Israel.

These strikes were in response to a rocket that had been fired into Israel earlier in the day…

The IDF said that the Iron Dome missile defense systems was activated and attempted to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, but failed to do so. Media outlets in the Gaza Strip reported that Hamas was evacuating its positions out of fear of an Israeli response.

Sometimes Hamas has taken responsibility for the rocket attacks and incendiary devices that are going into Israel and other times they have not. But the Israelis are definitely holding Hamas responsible for all the attacks that happen…

In an official statement, the IDF blamed Hamas responsible for “everything happening in and out of the Gaza Strip.” Going on to say that Hamas will “bear the consequences for the terrorist acts carried out against the citizens of Israel.”

Since Hamas will not stop the violence, Israel is essentially left with two options.  Either they can live with rockets and incendiary devices being constantly launched into their territory, or they can invade the Gaza strip. And according to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has already made up his mind about what should be done…

Israel has reached a breaking point regarding the situation in Gaza, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said on Monday, and “anything less than the toughest response won’t help anymore. We have exhausted the other options.” Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the defense minister said, “Wars are only conducted when there is no choice, and now there is no choice.”