When Israel commenced its assault on Gaza, I was concerned with the tunnel network and how Israeli soldiers would be ambushed in urban fighting. Already, this is a difficult fight, Hamas have long prepared for this battle, they have planned, they have trained, they are well funded and they are ready to execute their evil plans.

What we saw during the surprise attack on southern Israel, the Hamas assault teams were well trained, they were organised and they achieved their objectives. How Hamas was able to plan this surprise attack without the knowledge of Israeli intelligence is stunning, the reliance on technology is what allowed Hamas to plan this attack undetected.

Let me be clear here, I acknowledge the planning, training and execution of this assault on Israel. Hamas and its backers were well funded, recruited disaffected people to carry out these depraved acts of hatred and violence and trained their fighters with the skills to be effective. I do not condone their actions, I do not support any of their twisted theology

The terrorists that crossed into Israel displayed the brutality of ISIS, their acts against women, children and the aged is just disgusting. The Palestinians in Gaza did themselves no favours in the eyes of the world when the terrorists openly paraded the hostages around the streets of Gaza to cheers, spitting on the hostages, these are ordinary Palestinian people here, they should be ashamed of themselves. They cannot complain when the Israeli offensive begins to rescue these hostages – we all know what will happen.