- 16 mrt 2011
Gaza: 2 Hamas men killed in IDF strike
Army says strike was response to Qassam rocket fire. Victims are members of Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas' military wing.
Palestinian elements reported Wednesday that Israel's Air Force attacked a Hamas lathe in the central Gaza Strip. Doctors reported that two Palestinians were killed and two others were wounded. The victims are members of Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas' military wing. The strike followed the firing of a Qassam rocket at the western Negev.
According to the Palestinians, the lathe, which was inside a Hamas port, had been attacked manytimes in the passed and most recently was bombed by Air Force jets. The IDF said a post containing Hamas men was attacked.
The Palestinians also reported that the Navy fired at fishermen near the Gaza coast. One fisherman was injured, it was reported. The IDF did not issue a response regarding this report.
On Tuesday, Navy commandos seized the "Victoria" vessel which transported 50 tins of weapons from Syria to Egypt. The weapons were meant to reach Sinai and be smuggled into the Gaza Strip.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4043146,00.html
2 killed, 1 injured in Gaza City airstrike
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- An Israeli air strike hit a training base near the former settlement of Nitzarim on Wednesday, killing two and injuring a third, medics said.
The strike was the first in a week and a half.
An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the incident.
http://bit.ly/fdDBPU
Omar_Gaza Israeli f16s roaming Gaza's sky and I can hear deep far explosions!
Hearing sirens again,probably ambulances rushing for casualties as Israeli F16s remain in Gaza's sky,deep explosions r still being heard!
IDF confirms bombed Gaza 'in response to rocket fire'
The IDF has stated that its jets bombed the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning, in response to a rocket fired at Israel earlier in the day.
Palestinian sources say two men were killed in the strike.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4043157,00.html
29 oct 2012, 12:44 , Respect -
Maria 16 mrt 2011
Awarta man injured after mauled by police dogs
Israeli forces assault elderly couple during arrest in Beit Ummar
Sarahne meets her daughter for first time in 9 years
29 oct 2012, 12:44 , Respect -
Maria 17 mrt 2011
Israeli artillery shelling of eastern border area in Gaza yesterday
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Israeli artillery bombed on Wednesday evening the area surrounding Al-Shuhada graveyard east of the Gaza Strip without any reported casualties.
Local sources said that the artillery fired about five projectiles one after another in the vicinity of the graveyard.
A spokesman for the ambulance and emergency authority said the shelling did not result in any casualties.
The border areas between Gaza and the Israeli occupied lands witness every once in a while bombing, military incursions punctuated by demolition of Palestinian agricultural lands near the borderline.
On the afternoon of the same day, a Palestinian fisherman was moderately wounded when the Israeli navy opened fire at fishing boats off Gaza coast.
http://bit.ly/gVsy6n
Report: Israeli artillary fire hit east of Gaza City
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Hamas-affiliated Palestine Information Center reported Wednesday night the shelling of an area east of Gaza City by Israeli forces.
The shells were said to have hit near the Al-Shuhada graveyard, with no injuries reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369627
29 oct 2012, 12:44 , Respect -
Maria 17 mrt 2011
F16s drop leaflets on northern Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israel's airforce dropped thousands of leaflets on northern Gaza Thursday morning, warning residents to stay away from the border area.
An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the issue, but officials maintain that the border area off limits, describing it as a zone used by militants to launch attacks on Israel.
The no-go zone takes up some 20 percent of Gaza's agricultural lands, and eats into the coastal enclave as far as one kilometer, according to UN reports.
On Thursday morning, Jabaliya and Deir Al-Balah residents said leaflets advised those in the northern Strip to stay away of the border fence.
The last time leaflets were reported to have been dropped on Gaza civilians was in early January 2010, when residents of the southern segment of the enclave were also warned to stay away from the border area.
In January 2009, http://bit.ly/eT0Mpz leaflets called on Gaza residents to call Israel and provide information on the whereabouts of resistance fighters.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369557
( 2 jan 2009)
Spy for Israel: Jets drop recruitment leaflets over Gaza Strip
Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli airplanes dropped leaflets calling for Gazans to inform their military of the whereabouts of projectile launchers in return for aid and assistance.
The papers were found by the thousands all over Gaza on Friday morning and bear the signature of the Israeli military.
The leaflet reads:
To the residents of the Gaza Strip,
Take responsibility for your fate!
If you wish to provide help and assistance to your people in the sector, call the number below to provide us with the needed information. The projectile launchers and the terrorist elements pose a threat to you and your families.
The power to stop the massacre is in your hands.
Don't hesitate!
We will be glad to receive any information you have and it is not necessary to give us your personal information.
Your anonymity is guaranteed.
Call us at the following number:
02-5839749
Or you can e-mail us at: [email protected] to provide us with any information on the terrorist factions.
Note: To protect your safety, we ask you to be secretive when you call us.
Head of the Israeli Defense Forces
Israel has used similar tactics on several occasions, most recently during their 2006 war in Lebanon and earlier in 2003 during an attack on the West Bank. The fliers are meant to shake the civilian population and crush the spirit of the 'home front.'
Israeli military personnel have also cut into the Voice of Al-Quds radio station in Gaza and broadcast announcements to Gazans that convey a message similar to the leaflets.
At the same time, the Al-Qassam Brigades, which is affiliated with Hamas, has managed to cut into Israeli military radio channels and broadcast statements in Hebrew warning soldiers against entering the Gaza Strip.
In regard to Google's knowledge of Israel's usage of its email platform for military purposes, a company spokesperson told Ma'an that the corporation "does not monitor the email addresses selected by Gmail users."
***Updated 6 January 2008 at 1:27 Gaza time
http://bit.ly/eT0Mpz
29 oct 2012, 12:52 , Respect -
Maria 29 oct 2012, 12:52 , Respect -
Maria 29 oct 2012, 12:52 , Respect -
Maria 19 mrt 2011
Two Palestinians killed in Israeli raids
Two Palestinians have been killed and several others injured after Israeli forces struck different targets in the Gaza Strip, a report says.
According to Palestinians, the incidents took place early Saturday in Gaza.
Medic also said that five Palestinians were wounded during the Israeli air strike, AFP reported
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170693.html
29 oct 2012, 12:52 , Respect -
Maria 19 mrt 2011
2 Palestinians injured in fresh Israeli strikes on Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Two Palestinians sustained injuries Saturday as Israeli forces struck targets in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli media reported that 49 mortar shells fired from Gaza landed in the western Negev.
Locals said the strikes targeted a security facility of Hamas' military wing in Gaza City's Shuja'iyya neighborhood.
Medical official Adham Abu Salmiya said a 3-year-old boy was lightly injured by shrapnel to the head. He added that a 26-year-old man sustained moderate wounds in his foot and his hand.
Both were evacuated to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Israeli tanks targeted a mosque in the south, the Gaza International Airport near Rafah, and the Shokat As-Sufi village, eyewitnesses said.
The shelling came hours after huge explosions were heard in the southern Gaza City, apparently from Palestinian launch pads as resistance fighters launched mortar shells at Israeli areas bordering the Gaza Strip.
Resistance factions announced earlier that several mortar shells were launched toward the Kerem Shalom and Sofa military bases.
Israeli news outlets quoted police saying that 49 mortar shells fired from Gaza landed in Sdot Negev and Eshkol regional council. The Israeli news site Ynet reported that two Israelis were lightly injured and a building sustained serious damage.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370086
Israeli tanks strike targets in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli tanks struck targets in the Gaza Strip early Saturday, residents said, while Israeli media reports said 49 mortar shells fired from Gaza landed in the Negev desert.
There have been no reports of injuries on either side, but Israeli police reported that a building in the western Negev sustained heavy damage, according to the Israeli news site Ynet.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370079 29 oct 2012, 12:52 , Respect -
Maria 19 mrt 2011
Gaza farmers work under Israeli fire
(2:38) Gaza farmers work under Israeli fire - Press TV News
Many Palestinian farmers, including women and children, have come under Israeli fire along the so-called buffer zone in the northern and eastern parts of the Gaza Strip over the past two years.
The Israeli-defined buffer zone falls within Palestinian lands, and the Israeli forces deployed on the outskirts do not hesitate to fire at a moving target that wanders about, a Press TV correspondent reported from Gaza on Friday.
On Thursday morning, residents close to the border woke up to a shower of papers falling from the sky, the regular occurrence of leaflets dropped from Israeli F-16's over towns and cities close to the border.
Palestinian people gathered to read the message, but most knew what to expect: Warnings from the Israeli military telling these agricultural communities to stay away from their land, which lies within 300 meters of the border.
Prohibited access to farming land has had severe repercussions for the agricultural community in Gaza. They risk being shot for working on their fields.
The UN estimates that some 30% of Gaza's arable land lies within the no-go zone. And as such, many farmers here have no choice but to risk life and limb for the sake of their livelihoods. As a result, they are often shot at by Israeli snipers and many of them are killed.
Shootings have increased in the buffer zone in the past couple of years, mostly targeting Palestinian farmers and gravel collectors.
In 2010, around 47 people were killed and 114 injured in such incidents.
As reliance on local farming continues to increase with Israel's siege on the territory, targeting the agriculture sector will be destructive for Gaza's already struggling population.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170668.html
29 oct 2012, 12:52 , Respect -
Maria 19 mrt 2011
IDF: Assassination of Hamas leaders possible
Gaza escalation may prompt IDF to hit military wing leaders, army says; Hamas: Don't test us.
The latest escalation in Gaza rocket attacks on southern Israel may lead to assassinations of Hamas military wing leaders, the IDF warns, with army officials saying they cannot discount this possibility.
Military officials made it clear that Saturday's barrage of some 50 mortar shells at the western Negev will not be ignored, adding that the army's aerial attacks Saturday afternoon were merely "the first bullets" in Israel's response.
The IDF's initial response included massive tank and aerial fire directed at some 10 Hamas targets, including outposts and observation posts. The army's strike lasted 45 minutes and the IDF says Hamas men who manned various positions were hurt.
The Gaza Health Ministry spokesman said earlier that at least one senior Hamas man was killed and four civilians were wounded in the IDF strikes.
The army struck across the Strip after Hamas and other terror groups fired dozens of mortar shells at southern Israel earlier in the day.
Hamas Spokesman Ismail Radwan said the mortar barrages came in reaction to Israeli Air Force attacks that killed group members and warned Jerusalem "not to test Hamas' response."
Army chief: Situation under control
Meanwhile, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz visited southern communities targeted by the mortar attacks. The army chief entered homes damaged in the strikes, spoke with residents and also discussed the situation with the head of the Eshkol Regional Council.
"We know what we're doing, and as far as we're concerned the situation is under control," Gantz said at the conclusion of the visit.
However, unlike previous cases, where rockets were fired by various Islamic factions, Saturday's barrages were fired by Hamas men. As result, IDF officials are seeing "potential for escalation" in and around the Strip.
Southern residents received warning of the incoming mortar shells via text messages and phone calls, quickly rushing to bomb shelters. As result of the quick action, only two residents sustained light wounds in the major barrages. Following the unusual scope of the Palestinian attack, the IDF decided to activate its multifaceted radar system in order to improve the alert given to residents.
Following the mortar attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will respond firmly to any Gaza attack, and that every such incident will be met with a response.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni also called for harsh response to the attacks.
"Hamas does not recognize our right to exist here. It is no partner for peace and an agreement," she said. "The right way to contend with it is through force, as Israel did during Operation Cast Lead and after it”as far as activity vis-à-vis Hamas is concerned, there are no disagreements between the opposition and the coalition."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4044526,00.html
29 oct 2012, 12:52 , Respect -
Maria 19 mrt 2011
Disabled Palestinian detained at Jordan border
29 oct 2012, 12:53 , Respect -
Maria 20 mrt 2011
Army kills 2 teenagers in Gaza
update: GAZA CITY (Ma'an) Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinian teenagers in Juhr Addik north of Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza strip on Saturday evening.
Palestinian medics told Ma'an that two bodies were found after Israeli forces allowed ambulances to access the area late Sunday morning.
The bodies were taken to the Ash-Shifa Hospital where they were identified as Imad Farajallah, 17, and Qasim Salah Iteiwa, 17, both from the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said Sunday that soldiers fired at two men approaching the Gaza Strip's border with Israel. The army official told Ma'an that forces identified a hit, but she could not confirm that they were killed.
However, the Israeli daily Haaretz and Israeli news site Ynet reported on Saturday night that both men were killed, quoting a military spokesperson.
Palestinian medical sources told Ma'an on Sunday morning that they had not yet received any information from Israeli officials about the attack. Israeli authorities usually inform Palestinian medics about such incidents through liaison officers, medical officials added.
Israeli forces are on high alert near the borders with the Gaza Strip after Palestinian resistance fighters launched over 50 mortar shells and homemade projectiles across the border on Saturday.
Ma'an's reporter said Israeli military tanks struck targets near the borders in the northern and central Gaza Strip late on Saturday night. Israeli missiles and artillery shells landed in Juhr Addik, east of Al-Bureij refugee camp, and in agricultural fields east of Gaza City. No injuries have been reported.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza, the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades said its fighters fired a Grad missile into the western Negev on Saturday evening.
The group said the shelling was a natural response to the ongoing Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
Livni calls for another Cast Lead
On Saturday, Israel's opposition leader Tzipi Livni said the escalation in mortar fire called for a new military campaign against the coastal enclave.
"The right way to deal with it is with force, just like Israel did during and after Operation Cast Lead," news website Ynet quoted her as telling local authority heads in the border region.
Israeli forces killed some 1,400 Palestinians during the December 2008 offensive, more than half of whom were civilians. Thirteen Israelis, 10 of them soldiers, were killed in the 22-day attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would use "all necessary means to protect its citizens" in a statement from his office.
In January, Gaza's main militant factions confirmed a year-old truce after weeks of increased rocket fire and spiraling tensions along the border prompted a warning from Arab leaders that Gaza was risking a major new Israeli invasion.
AFP contributed to this story
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370348
Gaza: IDF tank shield intercepts missile
'Windbreaker' defense system intercepts missile fire on Merkava 4 tank; IDF responds with artillery fire; Palestinian injured. Hamas: Reaction will be severe if attacks on Gaza continue.
Exchanges of fire between IDF soldiers and Palestinians were reported at around noon Sunday near the Al-Bureij refugee camp in Gaza.
During the fighting, Palestinians fired an anti-tank missile at a Merkava 4 tank, which is equipped with the "Windbreaker" defense system. The system intercepted the missile, and IDF forces responded with artillery fire.
The "Windbreaker" shield is marketed abroad under the name "Trophy".
According to the Palestinians, one person was injured from the artillery fire.
Earlier, Palestinian media outlets reported of "irregular" movement of IDF armored vehicles near the security fence in south Gaza. According to reports, the vehicles were accompanied by helicopters.
The current round of violence on Israel's southern front has escalated over the past few days. On Saturday night IDF forces patrolling the northern Gaza Strip fence spotted and killed two terrorists approaching the security barrier near an Israeli kibbutz.
Armored Corps soldiers opened fire and killed the two men. No injuries were reported among IDF troops. According to initial estimates, the two were planning to plant an explosive device near the fence.
Sources in Gaza also reported of Israeli tank fire in central Gaza. They said Israeli tanks also opened fire in the direction of agricultural fields located east of Gaza City, near the border with Israel.
Forty-nine mortar shells were fired into Israel from Gaza on Saturday, prompting the IDF to strike several targets across the Strip. Two Israelis sustained light injuries from the mortar fire.
A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - stated on Sunday that the numerous rockets fired towards Israel in recent days are a message to Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip. "The resistance will not sit idle and watch the crimes of the occupation, especially in light of the recent bombings," Abu Obeida said, and cautioned that if the IDF does not stop attacking the Strip, the reaction will be severe.
In an interview with the Al-Resalah website, which is associated with Hamas, Abu Obeida also addressed the IDF's recent interception of the "Victoria" arms ship. He claimed that Israel is taking advantage of the calm to incite against Hamas by accusing the organization of smuggling ammunition into the Gaza Strip using ships.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4044891,00.html
Al-Qassam warns Israel of escalating its military attacks against Gaza
GAZA, (PIC)-- Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, warned the Israeli occupation state of going too far in escalating its military attacks against the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip, asserting that Saturday's mortar attack was a message for Israeli troops.
Spokesman for the Brigades Abu Obeida on Saturday evening stressed that the armed wing of Hamas would not hesitate to repel any Israeli aggressive acts against Gaza.
The spokesman affirmed that the firing of mortar shells on Israeli military posts in border areas east of Gaza was in retaliation to deadly attacks waged during the past days on Gaza.
Al-Qassam Brigades had fired 33 mortar shells on Israeli military posts on Saturday morning. Consequently, two Israeli soldiers were injured during the retaliatory attack, according to the Hebrew radio.
http://bit.ly/eTfYCj
29 oct 2012, 12:53 , Respect -
Maria 20 mrt 2011
Bomb explodes near Gaza beauty salon
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A bomb exploded Sunday morning in front of a women's hairdressing salon in the Shaboura neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses said.
Locals told Ma'an that they were performing the dawn prayer when they heard an explosion near a beauty salon in the area.
Ma'an's reporter said unidentified assailants detonated an explosive device by the "Moon face" salon causing massive material damage. No injuries have been reported and the motive behind the attack is unknown.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370358
29 oct 2012, 12:53 , Respect -
Maria 20 mrt 2011
Israeli shelling destroys Gaza power lines
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli shelling on Saturday destroyed power lines providing electricity to the Gaza Strip, said Electricity Company spokesman Jamal Ad-Dardasawi.
Ad-Dardawasi said Israeli shells struck main lines cutting off the power supply to areas east of Gaza City and in northern Gaza.
"By shelling these lines, the company has lost around 50 megawatts, leaving most of Gaza's neighborhoods without electricity. Only 40 megawatts are left to be distributed across the city," he said.
"In addition, the company lost more than 12 megawatts in the northern district after Israel shelled the line that provides the area with electricity."
The spokesman said the company was working on bringing technicians in to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure.
Gaza's Interior Ministry said five were injured, including a 3-year-old boy, as Israeli forces struck targets in the coastal enclave.
Locals said the Israeli strikes targeted a security facility in Gaza City's Shuja'iyya neighborhood.
Meanwhile Israeli tanks targeted a mosque in the south, the Gaza International Airport near Rafah, and the Shokat As-Sufi village, eyewitnesses said.
The shelling came hours after huge explosions were heard in the southern Gaza City, apparently from Palestinian launch pads as resistance fighters launched mortar shells at Israeli areas bordering the Gaza Strip.
Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility for the mortar attacks, and said the shelling came in response to Israel's "crimes and the ongoing air and ground strikes on the Gaza Strip the latest of which targeted and killed two Hamas' fighters."
Israel said 49 mortar bombs fell on or around Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza Strip in the biggest violation yet of an informal truce militants declared in January.
Army radio said only minor damage was caused but an Israeli military spokesman said two civilians were lightly wounded when three projectiles fell on Pithat Shalom in the Negev desert.
AFP contributed to this report
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370277
IDF: 2 "terrorists" killed in Gaza
Troops fire at two terrorists spotted near Gaza fence; IDF fears deterrence being eroded.
Escalation on Gaza border: IDF forces patrolling the northern Gaza Strip fence Saturday spotted and killed two terrorists approaching the security barrier near an Israeli kibbutz.
Armored corps soldiers opened fire and killed the two men. No injuries were reported among IDF troops.
The IDF has launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. According to initial estimates, the two were planning to plant an explosive device near the fence.
Palestinian sources in Gaza reported tank fire in the central Gaza Strip and around agricultural fields east of Gaza City, near the border with Israel. The sources said gunships were spotted above the Strip and expressed concerns that this was merely the opening shot of a more extensive assault.
Later Saturday, a Qassam rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip exploded in an open area in southern Israel.
No injuries or damages were reported in the attack
Earlier Saturday more than 50 mortar shells were fired into Israel from Gaza, prompting the IDF to strike several targets across the Strip.
Another op in Gaza inevitable?
Mortar shell damage
As tensions rise in the area, security establishment officials estimated that the deterrence achieved by the IDF following Operation Cast Lead in late 2008 and early 2009 is slowly eroding, at least in respect to Hamas' military wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam.
According to one estimate, Israel will eventually have no choice but to launch a large-scale operation in Gaza similar to Cast Lead.
The latest mortar shell barrage came in response to an earlier IDF attack that killed two Hamas terrorists last week.
The cycle of attacks and counter-attacks has led to the recent escalation, which as opposed to previous cases directly involves Hamas, rather than other Palestinin factions.
The latest escalation in Gaza rocket attacks on southern Israel may lead to assassinations of Hamas military wing leaders, the IDF warned earlier Saturday, with army officials saying they cannot discount this possibility of targeting such top commanders.
Military officials made it clear that Saturday's barrage of some 50 mortar shells at the western Negev will not be ignored, adding that the army's aerial attacks Saturday afternoon were merely "the first bullets" in Israel's response.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4044621,00.html
Interior ministry condemns recent military attacks on east of Gaza
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian ministry of interior strongly denounced the latest Israeli military attacks on Saturday morning on the eastern border areas of Gaza which led to considerable damage to homes and injured civilians and a number of security men.
In a press release, the ministry blamed the international community for its silence on Israel's ongoing crimes in Gaza and not taking action against Israeli war criminals.
The ministry also warned old members of the dissolved security apparatuses in Gaza who still receive financial support from Fatah faction of any attempt to bring back chaos to Gaza.
It stressed it would not allow any party to exploit the youth movements advocating the national unity to tamper with the internal security.
http://bit.ly/iiWGXa
29 oct 2012, 12:53 , Respect -
Maria 20 mrt 2011
Army: Forces shot 2 Palestinians in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) Israeli forces said they shot two Palestinians in northern Gaza on Saturday night, but Palestinian medics have not confirmed the incident.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers fired at two men approaching the Gaza Strip's border with Israel. She described the men as militants planning to plant an explosive device in the area.
The army official told Ma'an that forces identified a hit, but she could not confirm that they were killed.
However, the Israeli media reported that the men were both killed, quoting a military spokesperson. The Israeli daily Haaretz and the news site Ynet both reported that two Palestinians were shot dead.
Palestinian medical sources told Ma'an they had not received any information from Israeli officials about the shooting. Israeli authorities usually inform Palestinian medics about such incidents through liaison officers, medical officials added.
Israeli forces are on high alert near the borders with the Gaza Strip after Palestinian resistance fighters launched over 50 mortar shells and homemade projectiles across the border on Saturday.
Ma'an's reporter said Israeli military tanks struck targets near the borders in the northern and central Gaza Strip late on Saturday night. Israeli missiles and artillery shells landed in Juhr Addik, east of Al-Bureij refugee camp, and in agricultural fields east of Gaza City. No injuries have been reported.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza, the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades said its fighters fired a Grad missile into the western Negev on Saturday evening.
The group said the shelling was a natural response to the ongoing Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
Livni calls for another Cast Lead
On Saturday, Israel's opposition leader Tzipi Livni said the escalation in mortar fire called for a new military campaign against the coastal enclave.
"The right way to deal with it is with force, just like Israel did during and after Operation Cast Lead," news website Ynet quoted her as telling local authority heads in the border region.
Israeli forces killed some 1,400 Palestinians during the December 2008 offensive, more than half of whom were civilians. Thirteen Israelis, 10 of them soldiers, were killed in the 22-day attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would use "all necessary means to protect its citizens" in a statement from his office.
In January, Gaza's main militant factions confirmed a year-old truce after weeks of increased rocket fire and spiraling tensions along the border prompted a warning from Arab leaders that Gaza was risking a major new Israeli invasion.
AFP contributed to this story
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370348
Israel bombards Gaza Strip
By Adel Zaanoun
GAZA CITY (AFP) -- Israel pounded the Gaza Strip Saturday, injuring at least five Palestinians and cutting power, as Gaza fighters fired dozens of shells into Israel, wounding two people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would use "all necessary means" to protect its citizens following the attack and the head of the opposition called for a repetition of a bloody 2008 Israeli incursion into the coastal strip.
Hours after the main exchange, the Israeli military said troops shot two men seen moving suspiciously toward a frontier "no-go" zone in the north of the coastal enclave.
"An army force spotted two suspects moving toward the border fence and opened fire," a spokeswoman said. "The two were seen to have been hit."
Palestinian officials said Israeli tanks fired several shells into Gaza after dark but they had no reports of casualties.
The armed wing of Gaza's ruling Hamas movement took responsibility for the mortar barrage, three days after an Israeli air strike killed two of its members in Gaza.
The Israeli military said "around 50" mortar bombs fell on or around southern Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza in the biggest violation yet of an informal truce militants confirmed in January.
"In response to this massive fire there was pinpoint fire from tanks and helicopters at several suspect locations," an army spokeswoman told AFP.
She said two Israeli civilians were lightly wounded by the Palestinian shelling.
Hamas' armed wing the Al-Qassam Brigades said they targeted border crossings of Sofa, Kessufim and Nahal Oz.
Palestinian witnesses said some 10 shells had been fired at Sofa.
A Palestinian emergency services official said a subsequent Israeli air strike wounded five people Saturday in the Gaza City suburb of Zeitun.
Spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya said a child was among those wounded in the attack, which witnesses said targeted a Hamas security base.
Two members of the Al-Qassam Brigades were killed on Wednesday in an air strike on what Israel said was a militant training camp in Zeitun.
Witnesses said that in Saturday's exchange the Israelis also hit targets east of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and in the refugee camp of Deir El-Balah in the center of the territory.
Gaza Electricity Company spokesman Jamal Ad-Dardasawi said that the Israeli fire damaged a main electrical cable serving Gaza City and the northern strip, leading to widespread power cuts.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he regards with gravity the... attacks by Hamas on Israeli residents," a statement from his office said. "Israel will take all necessary means to protect its citizens."
An earlier statement from the office of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he had told Israel's UN mission to lodge a complaint about the mortar fire.
It noted the attack came as President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement controls the West Bank, was seeking reconciliation with Hamas.
Saturday's barrage took past 100 the number of projectiles Israel says Gaza-based militants have fired into its territory since the beginning of the year.
Israel routinely responds to the rocket and mortar fire with air raids on Gaza.
It carried out a 22-day offensive, codenamed "Operation Cast Lead" against Gaza rocket fire in December 2008 and January 2009, in which 1,400 Palestinians died, more than half of whom were civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni said that Saturday's hail of mortar fire meant the time had come for a fresh military campaign.
"The right way to deal with it is with force, just like Israel did during and after Operation Cast Lead," news website Ynet quoted her as telling local authority heads in the border region.
In January, Gaza's main militant factions confirmed a year-old truce after weeks of increased rocket fire and spiralling tensions along the border prompted a warning from Arab leaders that Gaza was risking a major new Israeli invasion.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370314