In response to the October 7 terrorist campaign, Israel has executed the swiftest and largest mobilization in its history. Over 360,000 Israelis have been called up. El Al flights from JFK airport in New York to Ben Gurion International are jammed full, with IDF reservists rushing in to augment the widespread military call ups.

The Israeli Air Force has operated around the clock. Some are aiding Israeli special forces, others softening and preparing the battlefield for the coming offensive, others conducting surveillance missions. The IDF claimed yesterday that it struck 450 targets in a 24-hour period, and that it has struck nearly 2,500 individual targets since Hamas launched its battalion-sized attack four days ago.

Around two army corps (a formation consisting of two to four divisions) are massing on the Gaza border. This force will dwarf prior large-scale IDF incursions into Gaza. A sizable IDF contingent is moving north to meet the threat of Hezbollah, which exceeds Hamas both in numbers and in capabilities, and deter it from joining the fray.

[Read it all, and although John doesn’t say this explicitly, the message is: don’t go wobbly. Will there be civilian casualties? You bet, because Hamas digs itself into civilian infrastructure to use as human shielding. That has deterred Israel from using overwhelming force in the past, but that deterrent died in Hamas’ orgy of barbarism against Israeli civilians this week. The Gazans that cheered those horrors are about to get the FO end of the FAFO equation as a result. — Ed]