The Gaza operation's unstated goal: Anarchy

Hamas, judging by its rhetoric and suicide bombers, is not afraid of death.

Judging by its policies, Hamas is also not afraid of causing the death or suffering of fellow Palestinians. And Hamas is definitely not afraid of killing Jews.

What Hamas is afraid of, however, is losing power; losing control of the Gaza Strip, losing its base of Islamic fundamentalism in this little corner of the Middle East.

And that fear - and the appreciation in Israel of the importance of power to Hamas - explains some of Israel's actions over the last few days in the Gaza Strip. But Israel seems now to be betting that if Hamas can no longer govern effectively, then its public legitimacy may wane. And that, Jerusalem believes, is something that genuinely does scare Hamas.
Israel is trying to push that process along