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Israel attacks Gaza, Hamas launches rockets
Ugh, I hope this is short lived:
A barrage of rockets hit Gaza-belt communities Wednesday morning after IDF forces engaged Hamas gunmen inside the Strip. It was the worst outbreak of violence since a shaky cease-fire took effect in June.
Israel ordered the Gaza crossings closed following the attacks, but while tensions ran high, Israeli officials said they remained committed to the cease-fire with Hamas, stressing that the operation was an isolated one.
Three Israeli soldiers were wounded and six gunmen were reported killed in the fresh clashes, which began when IDF special forces entered Gaza in order to blow up a tunnel dug by Hamas terrorists for the purpose of kidnapping IDF soldiers.
A soldier was lightly wounded in the ensuing firefight with Hamas gunmen, the IDF said, adding that there were also casualties among the gunmen.
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a Palestinian Health Ministry official, said a Palestinian was killed in the heavy gun battles. Residents identified the man as a Hamas gunman.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas's military wing, said in a text message to reporters that Hamas operatives were engaged in a gunfight with Israeli forces in central Gaza.
Hamas quickly vowed revenge for its casualties. "Our response will be harsh, and the enemy will play a heavy price," the group said in a statement on its military wing's Web site.
Mortar-launching squads were also involved in the fighting, and three soldiers were wounded by a shell in one attack. Two of the soldiers were in moderate condition while the third was lightly hurt. They were evacuated by helicopter to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
Palestinians reported that five gunmen were killed in two IAF strikes south of Khan Yunis, which the army said were carried out against mortar shell launchers.
It came after several mortar shells were fired toward the Eshkol region, one of which landed on the Israeli side of the Kissufim crossing.
Taher Nunu, a Hamas spokesman, said the group considered the air strikes a violation of the truce.
"This is a serious breach of the truce understandings reached through Egyptian mediation," he said in an e-mail message to reporters. "We consider this the most serious in a string of breaches."
The Kassam attacks quickly followed, and the IDF said the Home Front Command had taken steps to prepare for the possibility of an escalation.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a special security assessment with top security officials Wednesday morning to discuss the situation, and decided in light of the attacks to close the crossings between Israel and Gaza.
But defense officials later sent out calming messages, with Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i saying Israel had no intention of upsetting the cease-fire.
"We are not interested in escalation," Vilna'i said. "The calm brings quiet to the southern communities, and we have an interest in maintaining it."
Vilna'i explained that the IDF operation overnight Tuesday was made to counter "an immediate threat."
A military source added that the attack tunnel was ready for "imminent use," describing it as a "ticking tunnel" for the purpose of kidnapping soldiers.
The IDF accused Hamas of jeopardizing the truce by digging the tunnel and plotting to abduct more Israeli soldiers in the immediate future.
"The tunnel we uncovered was ready for imminent use, forcing us to act immediately," the military source said. "We did not know where the other end of the tunnel surfaced. In light of the intelligence we received about its immediate use, plans for special forces to enter Gaza this evening after sundown were approved," he added.
"The operation will end tonight and soldiers will head back to Israeli territory," the source added. "We are committed to the ceasefire, but we saw an immediate threat of kidnapping. Hamas placed the ceasefire in jeopardy. We can't ignore a red warning light of a kidnapping attack."
Asked if he believed the cease-fire had ended, the military source told The Jerusalem Post, "I don't think there's any reason for this to happen. We are doing what needs to be done. But if [the] other side forces us, we will take further steps."
Meanwhile, Israel Beiteinu chair MK Avigdor Lieberman said the rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip showed the failure of the cease-fire.
"The recent events in the South prove that that cease-fire agreement serves only the interests of Hamas," he said. "Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who organized, decided on and was proud of the agreement, needs to deduce from the immediate results, and quit," he went on.
Since the cease-fire went into effect in June, Hamas has dug an unknown number of tunnels to facilitate future attacks on Israel and to smuggle large quantities of weapons from Sinai. The tunnels are seen as central to Hamas's terrorist infrastructure in the Strip.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225715342045&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
