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Photo: Herzl Yosef
Injured soldier
Photo: Herzl Yosef
Photo: AP
Archive photo
Photo: AP

Soldier moderately hurt by antitank missile

Palestinian fire missile at building in Beit Hanoun. Residents in Gaza Strip town tell Ynet exchanges of fire taking place in area; several Palestinians wounded

A Givati fighter was moderately inured Wednesday morning in the Beit Hanoun area after Palestinians fired an antitank missile at a building where the soldiers were staying. The soldier was rushed to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva.

 

Several incidents took place throughout the morning in which terrorists fired antitank missiles at building where soldiers were staying. Shots were also fired at the forces from small-arms. 

 

The Israel Defense Forces hit a group of Palestinians attempting to place an explosive device. The Palestinians reported of three injuries among their people. 

 

The soldiers operating in the northern Strip are carrying out activities aimed at thwarting and reducing the firing of Qassam rockets at Israel. Meanwhile, the raids are mainly carried out near areas where launching cells are operating from, in Beit Hanoun and Jabalya.

 

The Palestinians reported of IDF snipers taking up posts on rooftops.

 

On Saturday, three soldiers from an elite unit were lightly wounded after an antitank missile was fired at a building they were staying at.

 

After the war in Lebanon, IDF officials confirmed that there are more advanced antitank missiles in the Gaza Strip which are capable of causing greater damage, and added that the forces in the field were briefed as part of drawing conclusions from the Lebanon war.  


Soldier evacuated (Photo: Herzl Yosef)

 

The IDF is waiting for the decision of the security-political cabinet regarding the nature of the operation in the Gaza Strip. Military sources noted that the army has broader plans which may reduce the Qassam fire in the long run.

 

The sources added that they resent the feeling in the public that the IDF does not hold the appropriate plans for wide-scale activities in the Gaza Strip.

 

"There is no plan to occupy the Strip, but there are definitely plans for various activities which will eventually affect the terror organizations. The decision whether to carry them out is not ours," a military source said.

 

IDF officials also estimated that the exact hits of Qassam rockets in the past few days in Sderot were the result of an upgrade and learning by the terror organizations.

 

"There is no doubt that there is a process of learning here. The terror organizations are not only strengthening in terms of the weapons they posses, but are also acquiring experience which enables them to improve their rockets, and thus the exact hits. The operations we are directing to are also aimed at harming these capabilities," the military source said.

 

Palestinians: School children hurt in Beit Hanoun

Palestinians in Beit Hanoun said that exchanges of fire have been taking place in the area since the morning. Several school children were injured, they said.

 

Nazek Kaprena, head of the local council, told Ynet that his niece was among the injured.

 

"The IDF has been operating in the town for three days now. The army is also blocking the entrance to the town and we are unable to enter and serve the residents."

 

Firing antitank missiles at building in which soldiers are hiding is a tactic which was also used by Hizbullah fighters during the Lebanon war. Many soldiers were hurt by the missiles, until the IDF instructed its troops not to stay inside building for too long.

 

Earlier Wednesday, Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported that IDF soldiers killed a Hamas activist near the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya.

 

According to the report, the two are members of the group's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. They may have been on their way to place an explosive device.

 

On Monday night, Israeli forces operated the Zeitoun neighborhood in the heard of Gaza City and in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya.

 

Heavy exchanges of fire, including firing of mortar shells, erupted in Zeitoun, and a senior wanted Palestinian suspect was killed. The man was identified as Ayman Hasnan, a member of the Izz al-Din al-QassaM Brigades, Hamas' military wing.

 

According to the Palestinians, a 70-year-old woman was also killed. Several Palestinians were wounded.

  

Ali Waked contributed to the report

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.22.06, 10:41
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