Palestinian sources on Sunday evening reported that the Israel Air Force struck twice, in the northern Gaza Strip and in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, injuring civilians. At least five Palestinians were hurt, including an 8-year-old girl and 62-year-old Taufik Bargouta who sustained critical wounds, near the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Strip.
Earlier, a passerby was killed and several other Palestinians were wounded in an IAF strike in Rafah.
At around midnight, the Air Force fired at a weapons shed in the Gaza City's Zaitun neighborhood. There were no reports of injuries.
In the evening, the Air Force struck a car carrying Hamas members near the Jabalya refugee camp. Following the strike there was a powerful explosion, which was apparently caused by many weapons which were in the car. It is unclear whether the Palestinians were directly hurt by the missile or by the explosion that followed the strike.
Injured in Jabalya (Photo: Reuters)
On Sunday afternoon, a missile was fired at a car carrying members of Hamas' military wing, but they apparently managed to escape.
In the evening, the IAF attacked a car carrying gunmen in the town of Beit Lahiya, critically injuring Taufik Bargouta. The series of strikes came after a relatively quiet day in Gaza.
In the Rafah incident, an Air Force aircraft fired twice at the car. One of the activists who tried to get away after he was not hit in the first barrage, was hit in the second one.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office said that "in a joint operation of the Southern Command and the Air Force, the IDF launched an air strike on a car carrying a group of terrorists."
During the night, the Air Force attacked an armed terror cell, in two different incidents, in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces also launched an air strike on a Fatah terror target in the southern Strip, which was being used to plan terror attacks, as well as a bridge in the northern Strip.
Meanwhile, the forces continue to operate in the Gaza Strip in a number of centers, although the operation is not inside the Palestinian territory, but next to the border fence. Near the Karni crossing the forces are searching for explosive devices and tunnels. Infantry corps from the Givati Brigad continued to capture controlling spots in the Dahaniya area in the southern Strip.
Forces from the Golani Brigade on Saturday left the northern Strip town of al-Atatra, one of the main terrorist strongholds in the Strip.
'Don't be misled by calm'
Golani Brigade Commander Colonel Tamir Yida'I said that the forces are prepared to enter any place in the Strip, including returning to al-Atatra, where dozens of terrorists were killed during 72 hours of fighting.
A military source said that "the recent hours of calm should not mislead us. Many forces are deployed around the Gaza Strip, some also inside, and the operation continues, including plans to enter other areas inside the Strip."
Palestinians injured in strike (Photo: AP)
The source added that in the past few days IDF bulldozers uprooted vegetation in the northern Strip, which is being used an operation area for terror cells and Qassam rocket launchers.
"These operations, which were conducted after an organized legal approval, minimize the cells launching areas by making it possible to spot any movement in this area. This may reduce the number of rockets fired at Israel, but this is only one operation our of an overall basket," the source said.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office made it clear that the IDF will continue to operate against terror targets in the Strip "in order to create conditions to return Corporal Gilad Shalit home safely and halt terror attacks and rockets fired at Israeli citizens."
On Saturday, three members of a Palestinian family were killed in an explosion in the Sajaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza. Four people were wounded in the explosion.
According to Palestinian reports, an IDF tank shell fired at a house in the area caused the blast, killing a mother and two of her children.
Earlier, the IDF claimed that it carried out no tank or artillery fire at the area , and stated that the circumstances of the incident were unclear. However, the IDF almost simultaneously reported that the Air Force identified a group of gunmen in the northern Strip area and fired a missile at its direction. According to the Palestinians, the two incidents are in effect the same.
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported Saturday morning that at least three Palestinians were killed in IDF offensives in the area of the Karni Crossing. Israeli troops advanced 3-5 kilometers (roughly 2-3 miles) into Palestinian territory in search of tunnels and explosive devices, and identified a cell of three gunmen approaching forces. Soldiers opened fire on the gunmen and hit them.
Ali Waked contributed to the report
First published: 16:38, 07.09.6