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IDF Blasts Hamas Positions on War’s 15th Day
Excerpts;
Ground troops aided Israel Air Force planes in identifying the location of several rocket launching squads and terror cells planting roadside bombs.
The IAF attacked over 60 targets throughout the day, including: Two rocket launching squads near Jabaliya, shortly after they fired towards the Ashdod region; ten launching points, several of which were hidden underground; seven smuggling tunnels; an anti-aircraft launcher; approximately ten weapons-storage and weapons-production facilities; two vehicles used to store and transport weapontr; and three Hamas outposts.
Israel Tells Gazans to Brace for War Escalation, jy Ibrahim Barzak and Josef Federman (Associated Press)
IDF: Whole Hamas Battalions Wiped Out, Hanan Greenberg (Ynet)
Excerpts;
Roughly 300 Hamas men have been killed since the army launched its ground incursion in the Gaza Strip. The military official said IDF troops were able to wipe out whole battalions belonging to the Gaza terror group.
“Hundreds of people were killed in the various combat sectors,” the officer said. “Some Hamas companies and battalions were simply wiped out. We also see cases of desertions and unauthorized leaves, while some terror activists are scared to undertake moves that would jeopardize them vis-a`-vis IDF troops.”
The officer also reported dozens of clashes between IDF troops and Palestinian gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip over the weekend. In one case, an IDF tank was able to avert an attack on a Givati infantry force, he said. Troops in the tank spotted a mortar cell preparing to fire and attacked it before it was able to target IDF soldiers.
“The forces continue to move forward, while reinforcing their hold on the ground” the senior officer said. “They are operating vis-a`-vis the Hamas organization, which sealed off whole neighborhoods.”
7 Soldiers Lightly wounded in Gaza Saturday
Senior Hamas Operative [Gaza Rocket Chief] Killed While trying to Attack Troops, by Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
Excerpts;
IDF troops in the Gaza Strip on Saturday targeted Hamas operative Amir Mansi, a senior member of Izzadin Kassam, the group’s military wing.
A senior commander of IDF operations in the Strip said that Mansi was the head of the Gaza Strip rocket division, and was previously involved in dozens of rocket attacks against Israel in recent weeks.
He was also said to be a close associate of Hezbollah, and was known to receive information from the group on a regular basis, including learning how to fire rockets.
The IDF commander said the fact that Mansi was personally involved in attacking Israeli troops showed that the Hamas military wing was in a serious state of distress, as senior Hamas operatives would not ordinarily venture out into battlefields
Mansi was killed while attempting to fire mortars at Givati troops at Jabal Rice, in the northern Gaza Strip.
“They are afraid to come out and fight, that’s why Mansi went out to fire rockets on his own,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, the IDF announced that at least 300 Hamas operatives have been killed since the ground offensive stage of Operation Cast Lead was launched a week ago. The IDF estimate was backed up by intelligence.
Also Saturday, IAF planes dropped leaflets warning Gaza residents of an escalation in attacks, as southern Israel came under more Palestinian rocket fire.
“The IDF will escalate the operation in the Gaza Strip,” the leaflets said in Arabic. “The IDF is not working against the people of Gaza but against Hamas and the terrorists only. Stay safe by following our orders.”
The leaflets urged Gaza residents not to help Hamas, and to stay away from its members.
The Israeli military said more than 15 terrorists were killed in fighting overnight Friday. It said aircraft attacked more than 40 targets including 10 rocket-launching sites, weapons-storage facilities, smuggling tunnels, an anti-aircraft missile launcher and gunmen.
Five soldiers were lightly wounded during the operations and taken for medical treatment.
The dropping of the leaflets appeared to be partly a psychological tactic. Defense officials say they are prepared for a third stage of the offensive, in which ground troops would push much further into Gaza, but are still waiting for approval from the government.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were discussing classified information, said the army has also planned a fourth stage which calls for a full reoccupation of Gaza and toppling of Hamas.
Twenty Terrorist Rockets Hit Israel on Shabbat
2 Grad-Type Rockets Land Near Ashdod; No Casualties or Damage
Kassam Strikes Open Area in Eshkol Region; No Wounded Reported
Beersheva High School [11th and 12th Grade] Students to Return to Class [in Bomb Shelters]
Ashkelon: Two Houses [and School] Hit by [3] Grad Rockets, by Attila Somfalvi (Ynet)
Excerpts;
Four people suffer minor injuries, 27 suffer shock after two rockets hit city houses. Five Qassam rockets hit Eshkol, Sha’ar Hanegev regional Councils; no injuries reported
Another Grad rocket hit a top-floor apartment which was empty at the time; and the third landed near one of the city’s schools. Overall, 27 people suffered shock in all three incidents.
Later Saturday, the Color Red alert sounded twice in Ashdod and blasts were heard throughout the city. The rocket landing sites were not immediately pinpointed; no injuries or damage were reported.
Saturday afternoon saw two more rockets land in Sha’ar Hanegev Sdot Negev regional councils. No injuries or damage were reported.
Five Qassam rockets were fired from northern Gaza in the mornign hours, landing in Eshkol and Sha’ar Hanegev regional councils and causing no harm.
The IDF Spokesman’s Unit reported that dive IDF soldiers sustained minor injuries during overnight operations in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian sources in Gaza reported that Israel Air Force fighter jets struck a Hamas compound in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis overnight at well.
Eyewitnesses in the Strip also reported of an IAF strike on a market in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.
IDF: Army Didn’t Fire on UN Truck Driver, by Amir Mizroch (Jerusalem Post)
Excerpts;
The IDF was not responsible for the death of a Palestinian aid worker contracted to the UN and the wounding of two others on Thursday, the IDF Spokesman said Saturday.
“An IDF investigation has found that it was not the army who fired on a UN truck at the Erez crossing,” the IDF Spokesman’s Office said.
“The army further wishes to point out that the Palestinian wounded were evacuated by the Red Cross to the Israeli border, where they were taken by Israeli medical personnel for treatment at Ashkelon’s Barzilai Hospital,” the IDF told The Jerusalem Post.
“… In all probability, the aid workers were hit by Hamas gunfire.”