Beit Hanoun after IAF strike
Photo: AP
IDF commanders in north Gaza reported Sunday of a rise in the number of close-range gunfights with Palestinian gunmen.
Islamist Group
Hanan Greenberg
Chief intelligence officer displays color-coded map of al-Atatra neighborhood used by terrorists to record locations of explosive devices, sharpshooters
In the afternoon hours a Golani Brigade force, backed by air cover, clashed with several terror cells, mainly in residential areas. According to army officials, some 10 gunmen were killed in the fighting.
The Givati Brigade, whose forces have encountered a relatively small number of gunmen since the ground incursion into Gaza was launched, also clashed with a number of terror cells on Sunday. IDF officials estimated that the rise in the number of clashes was due to the fact that Palestinian gunmen were coming out of hiding.
Later Palestinian sources in the Strip reported Sunday evening that two Palestinians, apparently armed gunmen, were killed in an Air Force strike in the Sejaiya district.
Israeli aircraft attacked some 25 targets in Gaza throughout the day, including warehouses used to store weapons, smuggling tunnels, rocket-launching pads and Hamas outposts.
Earlier in the day the Air Force attacked Islamic Jihad members who launched rockets toward communities in south Israel.
At least 25 rockets have been fired toward Israel from Gaza on Sunday. Seven soldiers were injured from rockets that landed near a kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council. One of the soldiers was seriously wounded, another sustained moderate wounds and the rest suffered mild injuries. They were evacuated to the Soroka medical center in Beersheba.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian health official said the bodies of 35 people have been found in the rubble of a Gaza Strip battle zone.
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry said the bodies were discovered Thursday during a three-hour lull in fighting, in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
He said it's not clear how many militants were killed because the remains were in poor condition. But he says women and children were among the dead.
Ali Waked and AP contributed to the report