IDF forces operating in central Gaza on Tuesday killed a Hamas member and injured three other gunmen who were approaching the security fence separating Israel from the coastal enclave, IDF officials and Palestinian officials reported.
Earlier, five mortars fired from the central Strip landed in an open field near the Suffa crossing. No injuries or damage were reported.
According to the annual Shin Bet security report ,published Tuesday, Palestinian terror organizations in Gaza fired more than 1,200 rockets towards Israel this year, killing two civilians and wounding 300 more, though the majority of these were shock victims. Only 800 of the total number of rockets fired made it across the border into Israel.
Shin Bet officials said that since Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last June the Islamist group has vastly improved its ability to function as a structured military outfit. This is attributed to the training undergone by its members in Iran.
Trainees are smuggled out of the Strip into Egypt and from there sent to various instructional facilities. They then return to Gaza with enhanced capabilities and expanded knowledge, which they pass on down through Hamas' ranks.
Efrat Weiss contributed to the report