Beit Hanoun: IDF kills 20 terrorists
IDF forces surround Beit Hanoun, gather male residents for questioning. Thursday evening, four gunmen, from Hamas and Fatah, killed in two separate incidents
New modus operandi in Gaza: For the first time in years, IDF forces surrounded the town of Beit Hanoun Thursday, in northern Gaza, gathered male residents of the town in a central location for questioning.
The objective: To find wanted operatives and acquire intelligence information to help forces operating in the area.
Palestinian sources in Gaza reported Thursday night that four gunmen had been killed in two separate incidents, one in Beit Hanoun and one west of Jabalia. According to the sources, the four were members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – the Fatah's military wing, and of Hamas.
The IDF reported that they had attacked a Qassam-launching cell operating in areas from where the earlier damaging rockets had been launched on the western Negev.
Qassams still falling
Despite IDF operations, Qassams have continued to fall on western Negev towns: seven rockets were launched Thursday evening alone. One landed in the yard of a Sderot home, the shrapnel wounding one woman.
Late Monday night, an IDF officer involved in the current operation said that activities were going according to plan. According to the officer, some 20 terrorists had been killed, dozens wounded and 15 terror-affiliated operatives had been detained.
In contrast, Palestinian sources claimed that seven people, members of one family, were moderately to severely wounded from IDF artillery near Beit Hanoun, and that a 75 year old man had been killed by a sniper.
According to the IDF, there were several exchanges of fire between terrorists and forces Thursday afternoon and evening. In some, soldiers identified terrorist cells trying to launch antitank missiles.
Preserving human dignity
During the day, IDF forces called residents to exit their homes, so that the male residents could be checked and questioned for information regarding terror activities.
"The men are concentrated in an area of several hundred square meters and the checks are conducted there, with an emphasis on preserving human dignity. Anyone with no terror connection can return to his business," the officer stated.
The officer explained that this operation is different than recent operations in the Strip, because of the new reality in the field, in which hundreds of rockets have been launched at Israel from the Beit Hanoun area.
Regarding the continued and increased Qassam attacks, the officer said they were derived from more extreme sections of the town and that, in his estimation, the shooting would decrease in the long term.
He said that there was stiff terrorist resistance, with large amounts of antitank missiles and many explosives. On the IDF side, infantry forces, led by Col Yoel Strick, are operating in conjunction with the air force, armored corps forces and engineer corps forces.
IDF sources refuse to say how long the operation in anticipated to continue. Concurrent to the operation, the IDF has transferred over 300 trucks full of food and medical equipment to the Strip.
