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'Small group of IDF tanks move north from Rafah
IDF activity in the Gaza Strip was continuing Saturday, with Navy and ground artillery shelling targets in both the northern and southern parts of the Strip. The shelling of the southern regions were done out of concern that the Palestinians were preparing to transport kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit to a new location. An army assessment believed he was being held in southern Gaza. The targets in the north were Kassam rocket launch sites. Since Thursday night, Palestinians have fired seven rockets into Israel in the direction of Sderot. In the context of ongoing operations in Gaza, IDF troops had already taken up positions in vacant areas near the town of Rafah, but the move into Abasan was the first time troops entered the Gaza Strip north of that area. The troops crossed the border with Israel and moved several hundred meters into Abasan on Saturday afternoon, Palestinian security officials said. The army said the raid in Abasan was a limited operation and the soldiers were expected to leave soon. Channel 1, citing a senior Israeli security official, reported Friday that a Palestinian doctor treated Shalit for minor shoulder and stomach wounds, and that the soldier was in good condition. A Palestinian report likewise indicated that Shalit was alive and well, quoting the doctor who visited Shalit as saying that his condition was good and that he was wounded in his stomach and shoulder, according to Israel Radio late Friday. The doctor's visit, which apparently took place on Thursday, came after pressure from Egypt led Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to approve the checkup. The kidnappers had originally refused to allow a visit. According to Palestinian sources, Shalit was wounded in his shoulder and stomach from shrapnel, but his wounds were treated and his life was not in danger. Less than an hour earlier, the IAF hit seven main roads in central Gaza. According to the army, the purpose of the strike was to make movement more difficult for the kidnappers and to crack down on Kassam rocket launchers. According to Cpt. Jacob Dallal of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, the operation's purpose was simple: "To gain the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit." Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Dallal said that the strikes would be "ongoing," though the operation was being done "in a calibrated, studied fashion," the IDF "has many means at our disposal" for escalating the attacks. We hope that this will work and that he will be freed as soon as possible," Dallal concluded. 350 shells were fired at Kassam launch sites in northern Gaza overnight. The shelling continued into Saturday morning. Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah called on the kidnappers on Friday not to release Shalit without an Israeli release of Palestinian prisoners. Earlier Friday, an IAF missile struck a car traveling in Gaza City, causing an enormous explosion and, according to Israel Radio, wounding two people in the vicinity. Palestinian reports indicated three were wounded, one seriously. Four men suspected of being responsible for launching Kassam rockets at Israel were apparently in the car. The missile did not directly hit the vehicle, but exploded next to it, allowing those inside to run out, witnesses said, identifying the occupants as members of Islamic Jihad. The IDF confirmed that it had carried out a missile strike in the area, while an IDF spokesman said the army would continue to target Palestinian terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in order to put an end to Kassam rocket attacks from there. Hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert put the brakes on a massive ground incursion into northern Gaza, IAF fighter jets struck close to a dozen targets before dawn Friday hitting the Palestinian Authority Interior Ministry and a Fatah office in Gaza City. Missiles also struck a Hamas training camp on the outskirts of the city. Other targets hit by missiles included a Kassam rocket production warehouse affiliated with the Fatah-backed Aksa Martyrs' Brigades. An IAF helicopter also fired upon and critically wounded an Islamic Jihad operative who tried to launch a rocket at Israeli forces. The man, 25-year-old Abdel Rael, later died of his wounds. His death marked the first fatality since the IDF incursion began on Tuesday. An IDF statement said that the strikes would continue as long as Hamas terrorists refused to release Shalit. IDF artillery cannons also pounded Kassam launch sites overnight Friday. Since the beginning of the current Gaza campaign, dubbed "Operation Summer Rains," the IDF has fired over 400 artillery shells. The IDF said the attack on Interior Minister Said Siyam's offices in Gaza City was caused by its being used as "a meeting place to plan and direct terror activity." Also early Friday, IDF troops in southern Gaza noticed several Palestinians approaching an IDF position with an anti-tank rocket launcher. Troops fired at the cell, causing it to flee. According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, two of the attackers were believed to be wounded, but all managed to escape. The details of the incident were still being investigated. Posted by: lotp 2006-07-01 |
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