- 28 nov 2010
Israel army admits to false alarm on Gaza rocket
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- The Israeli army said its report of a rocket being fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Sunday appeared to have been a false alarm.
The army said earlier that a rocket was fired from Gaza but exploded in mid-air as it headed toward the Shaar HaNegev region.
However, a military spokesman said it appeared no rocket was fired and that the report was caused by a false alarm from Israel's early warning system.
According to an army count, militants have fired more than 190 rockets or mortar rounds at Israel from the Hamas-controlled coastal strip since the start of this year.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=336819
Army: Gaza rocket hits Israel, no casualties
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into southern Israel on Sunday but caused no casualties or damage, the Israeli army said.
The rocket exploded in mid-air as it headed towards the Shaar HaNegev region of southern Israel which lies along Gaza's northeastern border, a spokesman said.
According to an army count, Palestinians have fired more than 190 rockets or mortar rounds at Israel from the Hamas-controlled coastal strip since the start of this year.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=336634 19 jan 2012, 21:12 , Respect -
Maria 29 nov 2010
Fighters Fire Mortars At Invading Troops In Gaza
The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility on Monday morning for firing mortars at Israeli troops invaded an area, east of Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
In a press release, the brigades stated that the fighters managed to fire several mortars at armored Israeli military vehicles and jeeps invading the area.
It stated that resistance is a legitimate right to any nation living under occupation, and that it will counter any Israeli military aggression.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60037
Islamic Jihad 'shells' Israeli tanks in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The armed wing of Islamic Jihad said Monday that it fired several mortar shells at Israeli tanks that entered the Gaza Strip east of the town of Beit Hanoun.
In a statement the group, Al-Quds Brigades, reaffirmed its right to "resist any Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people."
An Israeli military spokeswoman said, "We're not familiar with the incident."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=337021 19 jan 2012, 21:12 , Respect -
Maria 30 19 jan 2012, 21:12 , Respect -
Maria 1 dec 2011
PFLP wing: 4 shells fired at army posts
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for shelling two Israeli military posts close to the Gaza border on Saturday.
In a statement, the Abu Ali Mustafa brigades said fighters fired four mortar shells at Sofa and Kisufim military installations.
The group added that it would "cling to the option of resistance and confront the Israeli occupation."
An Israeli military spokeswoman was not aware of any attacks on military posts, but said one shell landed in the Sdot Negev regional council, causing no injuries.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=347226 19 jan 2012, 21:12 , Respect -
Maria 3 dec 2010
Gaza: Brigades claim military action in south
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades announced Friday morning that fighters from the militant group fired three mortar shells toward a gathering of Israeli soldiers east of Khan Younis.
The Israeli troops, a statement from the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said, were near the Abu Al-Agin neighborhood near the border.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was unaware of any such incident.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=338498
2 mortar shells hit Eshkol Regional Council; no injuries
Two mortar shells were fired at Israel and exploded in open areas in the Eshkol regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3993909,00.html 19 jan 2012, 21:12 , Respect -
Maria 4 dec 2010
An-Nasser Brigades claim clash with Israeli troops
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A group of Palestinian fighters affiliated wit the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, said they clashed with an Israeli force attempting to cross into the central Gaza Strip.
The brigades said the force withdrew, no injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=338701 - 6 dec 2010
Gaza brigade claims projectile fired toward Israel
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for firing a projectile into southern Israel on Monday.
In a statement, the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades said the projectile marked the anniversary of the PFLP's establishment, and that the militant wing would continue to oppose Israel's occupation.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said a projectile launched from Gaza landed in the Ashkelon Regional Council, and that no injuries were reported.
In a separate incident, militants fired a Rocket-Propelled Grenade towards an army force stationed near the Gaza border on Monday, an army spokeswoman said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=339669
Army: RPG and projectile fired from Gaza
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Israeli army said militants in Gaza fired a Rocket-Propelled Grenade towards an army force stationed near the Gaza border on Monday.
Further, a projectile launched from Gaza landed in the Ashkelon regional council, a military spokeswoman said.
No injuries were reported from either incident, she added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=339666 19 jan 2012, 21:12 , Respect -
Maria 7 dec 2010
Gaza: Brigades claim clash with Israeli forces overnight
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- On Monday evening, the military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, claimed to have fired three mortar shells at an Israeli force as it penetrated the border in the central strip.
In a statement, the brigades said Israeli vehicles crossed the Gaza border east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp, where they were ambushed.
An Israeli military spokesman said no such incident had been reported by troops.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=339783
Army: Gaza militants fire into Israel
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Palestinian militants fired two projectiles into southern Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a military spokeswoman said.
It was not immediately clear if they were mortars or rockets, but the projectiles "landed in an open area without causing damage or injuries," the spokeswoman said.
According to an army count, Palestinian militants have fired more than 190 rockets or mortar rounds at Israel from the coastal strip since the start of this year.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=339851 19 jan 2012, 21:12 , Respect -
Maria 8 dec 2010
Israeli wounded as Gaza militants launch mortar shells into Negev
4-mortar-shell volley comes less than a week after IDF soldiers killed two armed Palestinian militants trying to infiltrate into Israel through the Gaza Strip border.
A man was moderately injured after a mortar shell fired by Gaza militants exploded in the Western Negev on Wednesday.
The man, the head of security in one of the kibbutzim in the Eshkol regional council surrounding Israel's border with the coastal enclave, was reportedly hit in the neck by a piece of shrapnel outside his home. He was airlifted to Soroka hospital in Be'er Sheva.
Residents of surrounding towns were ordered by the Israel Defense Forces to stay in their shelters until further notice.
The attack, which included a total of four mortar shells, came after earlier this month Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed two armed Palestinian militants suspected to trying to infiltrate through the Gaza Strip border.
The troops opened fire on the two militants as they were in the midst of laying explosives at the fence near Kibbutz Kfar Aza. None of the soldiers was wounded.
That incident came after IDF forces and Gaza militants exchanged fire on multiple occasions last month.
Last month, Israel Air Force planes attacked three targets in the Gaza Strip, following a barrage of mortar bombs and rockets fired at the western Negev.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a long-range Grad rocket and seven mortar shells at western Negev, following a night-long barrage of Qassam rockets fired from the coastal enclave.
Police investigation showed that one of the mortar bombs fired at Hof Ashkelon council contained phosphorus.
Earlier Wednesday, the security cabinet voted to significantly increase exports of goods from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank and abroad, further easing Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.
The purpose of the decision is to try to ease pressure on the population in Gaza, which is being subjected to oppression under the Hamas regime, a statement by the Prime Minister's Office read.
The cabinet announcement also stipulated that alongside Israel's efforts to better the economic situation of the population in Gaza, Israel would demand that the international community continue its boycott of the Hamas regime and continue taking steps to prevent Hamas from attaining missiles.
"Arming Hamas is against international law, harms the interests of the population in Gaza, and it will harm Israel's ability to continue easing and bettering the economic situation in Gaza," the announcement said.
The exports, which will occur through the Kerem Shalom crossing point in southern Gaza, will include three types of goods: furniture, farming products and light industry products.
http://bit.ly/fD9lZb
Mortar shells explode in Eshkol Regional Council
Mortar shells explode in Eshkol Regional Council. No further details were given at this point.
Earlier on Wednesday a mortar shell exploded near a kibbutz at Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3996569,00.html 19 jan 2012, 21:13 , Respect -
Maria 9 dec 2010
Zahhar: Armed struggle will free Palestine
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar said Thursday that all Palestinian factions, including Fatah, should form a united front in an armed struggle in order to liberate all of historic Palestine.
Zahhar personally set fire to an Israeli flag during the brief news conference in Gaza organized to mark the 23rd anniversary of the founding of Hamas.
He said: "Israeli occupation will end. it does not have any future among us. Our Palestinian principles are not up for negotiation by anyone. Humanity is a sacred value to us as well as our land, which is not subject to elections, or referendum, or compromises, buying or selling."
"We also call for the Arab nation to unleash its people to reach Palestine," he said. He also urged the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to allow "resistance" to resume against Israel.
Addressing the Western world, he said, "We are not your enemies, your enemies are those who send your soldiers into failed wars in Lebanon, Iran, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan."
Zahhar's comments contrasted with those made one week earlier by the Hamas-affiliated prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, who said the movement would respect the results of a referendum on the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza only.
Haniyeh told jounralists: "We don't have a problem with establishing a viable Palestinian state with sovereignty on the land that was occupied in 1967, with a just solution for the refugees, including the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and with elections as the only way to transfer authority from one party to another."
"Hamas and the Palestinian government would respect the results of any referendum," he also said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=340649
Councils: Gaza threat growing
"We're being shelled from Gaza on a daily basis," statement says; gov't following mortar attack; Ashkenazi warns border is "very fragile."
Regional councils situated near the border with Gaza released a joint statement on Wednesday following yet more mortar and rocket attacks on the area from Gaza.
Escalation is only a matter of time, the statement said. The threat in the area is constant and growing. We hope that the government will know how to relate to this reality before formulating policy for the southern line of conflict for 2011. The government must realize that this will be an active line of conflict for the foreseeable future.
The statement came after a home in a kibbutz located in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council was damaged by a Palestinian mortar shell fired from Gaza on Wednesday.
This is only the latest in a series of security incidents, the Sha'ar Hanegev council said. In recent weeks, these incidents have risen greatly, and we are now being shelled on a near-daily basis.
Overnight Tuesday, the IAF struck a weapons warehouse and a smuggling tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF said the air strike was a response to three rockets launched into the western Negev over the past two days.
Last week, two Palestinian terrorists were killed on the Gaza border when IDF troops fired on a number of suspects on the northern end of the Strip. The terrorists were apparently trying to infiltrate a kibbutz on the Gaza border.
IAF planes and IDF troops on the ground opened fire and confirmed hits. No soldiers were hurt in the incident, the army said in a statement.
The statement asserted that terrorist organizations were making ongoing attempts to harm soldiers and Israeli citizens.
The IDF sees the Hamas terror group as responsible for breaking the peace, the army said.
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=198628 19 jan 2012, 21:13 , Respect -
Maria 10 dec 2010
Rocket fired from Gaza believed to have hit open area
The Color Red alert system was activated in the Eshkol Regional Council, apparently due to a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip.
There have been no reports of injuries or damage. The rocket was not located and it is believed that it hit an open area.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3997240,00.html
IDF: Hamas is upgrading anti-tank capabilities in Gaza
Hamas, smaller factions improving anti-tank arsenal in preparation for future round of Gaza ground fighting.
The Israel Defense Forces is concerned about the increase in incidents on the Gaza border, especially the apparent improvement in Palestinian militants' anti-tank capabilities.
Early yesterday the air force attacked three Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip: a weapons storage facility in the north and two other sites in the south. No Palestinian casualties were reported.
The attack followed the wounding of a security officer in a community in the Eshkol Regional Council on Wednesday night during a mortar attack from the Strip. The man was lightly injured and taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva.
An IDF spokesman said Israel considers Hamas responsible for any attack from the Gaza Strip, so it retaliated against installations run by the organization.
On Tuesday, the IDF uncovered four areas where improvised explosive devices had been laid along the border with Gaza; Palestinian militants had hoped to strike Israeli patrols.
Earlier this week Palestinians significantly damaged an Israeli tank by firing an anti-tank missile from over the border. The Palestinians have improved their anti-tank capabilities by smuggling in sophisticated arms from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, the IDF says.
Hamas and smaller factions are trying to upgrade their anti-tank capabilities to be better able to slow down IDF armor in another round of serious ground fighting.
During Israel's Gaza offensive two years ago, known as Operation Cast Lead, Hamas found it difficult to disrupt the movement of Israeli armor, so the Palestinians identified anti-tank capabilities as a key place for improvement.
The Palestinians are using the Hezbollah model. During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Hezbollah fighters used advanced anti-tank missiles and hit tanks and armored carriers.
Senior IDF sources told Haaretz that there has been a noticeable increase in recent weeks in fighting in the Gaza Strip, mostly stemming from the Palestinians' efforts to place explosive devices near the border fence.
It would appear that both Hamas and the IDF are resuming their struggle to control a strip several hundred meters wide inside Palestinian territory.
Palestinian militants hope to place mines and other explosives in that area to hamper penetration raids by the IDF.
Outgoing Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Wednesday at a meeting with paratroopers that the situation in Gaza was "fragile" and that the army may have to operate there more extensively.
http://bit.ly/i4dGDw 19 jan 2012, 21:13 , Respect -
Maria 11 dec 2010
PFLP: Fighters targeted Israeli unit in north Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility Saturday for opening fire at Israeli forces in northern Gaza.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said its men opened fire at an engineering unit operating north of the city of Beit Lahiya.
The group said in a statement that it targeted unit near an area known as Abu Samra Gate at 7:10 a.m. Saturday. The operation was intended to coincide with the 43rd anniversary of the founding of the PFLP, and to respond to the ongoing Israeli criminal acts, the statement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=341009
Army: Rocket fired from Gaza into Israel
JERUSALEM (AFP) - A rocket fired from the Islamist-run Gaza Strip hit southern Israel on Saturday without causing casualties or damage, a military spokesman said.
The projectile "exploded on open ground," he said, a day after a mortar round or rocket fired from the Palestinian territory exploded, again without causing casualties or damage.
Gaza-based Palestinian militants have fired some 200 rockets and mortars into Israel this year. Eight attacks have been recorded this week.
In December 2008, Israel unleashed a 22-day offensive against the territory's Hamas rulers in a conflict that cost the lives of 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
The stated aim of "Operation Cast Lead" was to halt near daily rocket or mortar attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant groups.
On Friday, two Palestinian teenagers were killed in a blast in Gaza City thought to have been caused by an unexploded Israeli tank shell left from the war.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=341186 19 jan 2012, 21:13 , Respect -
Maria 12 dec 2010
Popular Front marks 43 years of resistance
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, to mark its 43rd year since its inception on Saturday in Gaza, asserted that all forms of resistance of Israel's occupation is the legal right of the Palestinians.
Senior popular front official Jamil Al-Majdalawi said during a rally organized on the occasion that it is wrong to place some of these forms as alternatives to the resistance movement, stressing that to give up resistance is to wrong the Palestinian people and their sacrifices.
Majdalawi also announced the launch of the where did you get this principle, in an effort to wage war on corruption in Palestine. He added that the Palestinian Authority should be placed under scrutiny and the PLO rebuilt on a national, democratic basis.
In a separate context, a fight broke out between PFLP members during the celebration, attendees told the PIC.
Chairs and sticks were used by the brawlers near the ceremony platform, they added. At least 19 were injured amid attempts by other front cadres to stabilize the situation. The cause of the squabble was not directly identified.
http://bit.ly/g6GSdE
Zahhar: Hamas is much more than a project to end occupation
GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas political bureau member Mahmoud Zahhar promised in an interview aired by the Aqsa channel that his movement will not veer off from the resistance program it launched since its inception during the first intifada (uprising) in 1987.
The resistance has many forms, and the Palestinian street has become fully aware that armed action is a tool of resistance.
If Palestine is liberated, and the resistance ends, will our enterprise end? Zahhar challenged, explaining that Hamas is much more than just a project to end the occupation.
The senior Hamas official ruled out that Fatah faction is moving for the sake of liberating Palestine. Their idea is based on the principle of political commotion to reach temporary peace at the expense of the Palestinian national enterprise, he said.
Zahhar went on to assure that Hamas is not a duplicate copy of Fatah.
Repeated encounters by Fatah leaders with the US administration have made it sell out the Palestinian national enterprise.
The Hamas leader accused Fatah of cooperating with Israel to downplay the Palestinian cause.
http://bit.ly/ggS7oG
Palestinian worker injured in IOF gunfire
Two Palestinian operatives killed by IOF fire