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Gazans inspect remnants of vehicle in which terrorists were riding.
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| By israelinsider staff May 17, 2007 |
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At least 5 Hamas militants, including a top terrorist responsible for rocket manufacturing, were killed and dozens wounded in four Israel Air Force strikes in Gaza Thursday. The rising death toll was reported by Israel's Channel Two, which also broadcast military photos of three different vehicles carrying terrorists being blown to bits by armed drones.
Channel Two also reported the entry of tanks several hundred meters into Northern Gaza to monitor launch areas of Qassam rockets. Cannons have also been position for the first time in months on the Gaza border, poised to strike launchers and manufacturing facilities.
In this manner, the IAF eliminated Imad Shabaneh, a senior Hamas terrorist responsible for rocket manufacturing. An aircraft fired at his car, fatally wounding Shabaneh and another man in the vehicle. The car attacked was carrying a large quantity of weapons, including Qassam rockets.
Shortly after another Hamas militant was killed in the third IAF strike Thursday. The attack targeted a trailer in which were the security guards of a Hamas official. Several were wounded.
Earlier in the day, the Israel Air Force struck a Hamas security compound in Gaza City, killing at least one person, and wounding an estimated 40.
The strike came after a morning in which 13 Qassam rockets fired from Gaza struck the western Negev, one hitting a high school, lightly wounding two people. By the end of the day more than 25 had fallen. There were only slight injuries, but major property damage -- including a direct hit that sent a military facility up in flames -- and a city reeling from the trauma of never knowing when or where the next rocket would hit.
The "Color Red" early warning siren has operated successfully only in a fraction of the attacks, leaving the population vulnerable to surprise explosions.
Gaza residents and Hamas radio identified the target of the IAF strike as a building used by the Islamist terror group's Executive Force. A spokesman for the militia said that at least thirty people were injured and that some may be trapped under the rubble of the collapsed building.
As many as 45 people are reported injured.
Hamas responded to the attack by threatening suicide bombings.
"This is an open war launched against Hamas. All options are open, including martyrdom operations," stated Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida.
According to the IDF, the attack was in response to the rocket barrage that has been launched at southern Israel in recent days. Two students were lightly wounded as a Negev high school suffered a direct hit by a Qassam rocket Thursday morning. Another Qassam hit a yard, later in the day, but no one was injured.
On Wednesday alone, more than 30 Qassams were launched into Israel by terror organizations.
"We have had enough. Israel will take all defensive measures to protect our citizens from these Hamas rockets," spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Miri Eisin, stated before the IAF strike.
Olmert announced Wednesday that Israel should prepare to take strong action.
"Israel will not be able to continue and show restraint when its citizens are being targeted, and therefore it was decided to respond harshly," stated Olmert after a meeting with Defense Minister Amir Peretz and other defense officials Wednesday, where the group decided how to respond militarily.
According to a statement, "It was decided to authorize the IDF and the defense establishment to carry out a series of actions in order to target those launching Qassam rockets and their leadership, to disrupt their ability to launch rockets and to strike the terrorist infrastructure."
Several IDF tanks also entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday in an effort to halt the Qassam attacks and improve reconnaissance, though sources within the army stressed that this was not part of a large-scale operation to enter Gaza.
In a meeting with the German foreign minister, FM Tzipi Livni spoke of her disappointment in European nations' lack of response to the continual rocket attacks on Israel..
"In the absence of an effective plan by the international community to stop the rocket fire towards Sderot, Israel will act to end the attacks on its citizens," she stated.
"Israel expects the European Union to be involved in diplomatic efforts to stop Qassam fire," Livni said.
In response to the continued danger Israel's western Negev residents, the Defense Ministry began evacuating a number from Sderot, a town sporadically attacked for the past five years, to an Association for Soldiers' Welfare hostel in the north, Israel Radio reported Thursday.
According to municipality officials, many of Sderot's residents have already left by their own accord.
Israeli-Russian tycoon Arkadi Gaydamak paid for approximately 600 Sderot residents to be relocated to a Be'er Sheva hotel. In all more than 2500 residents are believed to have left town. However, the hardy residents continued with life, including a procession to bring a new Torah scroll into a synagogue and a Bar Mitzvah party.
Earlier in the day, Hamas and Palestinian officials reported that a Hamas training camp in northern Gaza suffered an explosion, though no one was wounded. Palestinian security officials blamed the explosion on an IAF attack, though the IDF, generally known for taking responsibility for its attacks, denied being involved. |
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