The IDF began to withdraw from Beit Hanun, Palestinians reported early Tuesday. Witnesses told a French news agency that they saw armored vehicles moving north out of the town limits. The army did not respond to the reports. Five Palestinians were killed Monday in separate incidents in the northern Gaza Strip. At least 55 Palestinians were killed during the six-day operation. Four Hamas gunmen were killed by IDF snipers and IAF helicopter missile strikes Monday, including two who were shot as they approached troops with RPG rocket launchers. Two civilians were killed as well. Earlier, a female suicide bomber blew herself up near troops in Beit Hanun Monday afternoon, lightly wounding a soldier, the IDF reported.
Two gunmen were wounded as they attempted to fire Kassams, the army and PA security officials said. Palestinians managed to fire anti-tank missiles at an armored vehicle, without causing any harm, the IDF said.
The attack by the female bomber was the first against the IDF since it entered Beit Hanun on Wednesday in a bid to curb the Kassam attacks. Snipers and IAF missiles have succeeded in preventing Palestinian gunmen from using shoulder-fired missiles and roadside bombs.
Apparently frustrated by their inability to keep soldiers from conducting searches in Beit Hanun, the terrorists resorted to sending a woman. She approached troops, ignored calls to stop, and then detonated her bomb. She was killed in the blast that shook nearby homes and wounded several Palestinians. The soldier was lightly wounded by shrapnel and evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, the army reported. The boomer was identified by relatives as Mervat Masaoud, 18, a student at Gaza City's Islamic University. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing.