Cathal Berry is former Deputy Commander of the Army Ranger Wing
Israel's formally declared war on Islamist group Hamas - after a weekend of violence that saw 11-hundred people killed.
Militants attacked southern Israeli towns, killed 260 people at a music festival, and took dozens of hostages.
In response, there have been hundreds of strikes overnight on targets in the Gaza Strip.
Kildare South Independent TD and former Deputy Commander of the Army Ranger Wing, Cathal Berry, gave his assessment of the situation on this morning's Kildare Today programme.