IDF questions more than 50 Palestinians
Army reports five gunmen hit during southern Strip raid; forces also uncover explosive belt, explosive device. Palestinians report four killed, 14 injured in operation
More than 50 Palestinian men were questioned by the army, which is later expected to decide whether to arrest some of them and take them into Israel for questioning by the Shin Bet.
Forces from Golani's 51st Battalion are taking part in the operation, and have managed to hit about 25 gunmen since arriving in the Gaza Strip about a month ago.
Khan Younis women mourn casualties (Photo: Reuters)
"The motivation to target the operating forces, as well as carry out terror attacks at the border fence, exists," Southern Command officials explained.
"The current activity, like the previous ones in recent weeks, is aimed at halting terror attacks at different stages, out of the understanding that if we don’t stop them on the Palestinian territory we will wake up one morning to a terror attack on the fence or in an Israeli community.
"The uncovering of an explosive belt, a tunnel or the arrest of a terror activist, all have added value which achieves its goal," an official said.
'We have not intention of hurting civilians'
IDF officials stressed that the activity in the southern Strip was not offensive but defensive.
"We still encounter gunmen operating from among civilians, seeking to turn the civilians into a human shield. This morning we encountered a similar incident. We have not intention of hurting civilians, but terror organizations are responsible for this."
According to the Palestinians' reports, four Palestinians were killed and another 14 were injured in the IDF operation in the southern Strip, including a Hamas member and a mother and her son.
The Hamas operative was killed in an airstrike Monday night, which was followed by the entry of ground forces into the area with helicopters and armored vehicles. The rest of the Palestinians were hurt in exchanges of fire with IDF soldiers.
The Palestinians also reported that IDF soldiers took over a number of houses in the southern Strip during the operation, and that the troops were calling on men aged 16 to 40 to leave their homes.
According to the Palestinians, one of the men killed in the clashes is a member of Hamas' military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, who was identified as Muhammad Abu Musmah, 24.
Another casualty is a civilian, 40-year-old Ibrahim Abdullah Shami, who according to the reports was accidentally shot as he stood on a rooftop. The woman killed with her son was identified as 65-year-old Sabha al-Fareh, and her son's name is Omar.
The IDF reported that the son was a Hamas member and that it was checking into the reports that the mother was also hit.
Ali Waked contributed to the report
