On Tuesday morning, IDF infantry, engineering and armored
forces withdrew from the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun
and took up positions within Gaza but outside the town. The
IDF announced that it had completed its operations against
the terror and rocket launching infrastructure in Beit
Hanoun. In the course of Tuesday, at least nine Palestinians
were reported killed in the fighting. Kassams continued to
fall in southern Israel.
During the operation in Beit Hanoun, IDF forces conducted
searches throughout the town in order to locate terrorists,
gunmen and weaponry. Dozens of armed gunmen were killed in
aerial attacks and clashes with soldiers. The vast majority
of the 58 deaths in the past week were of armed gunmen,
despite the extensive use by the Palestinians of civilians as
human shields to protect the gunmen. Aside from specific
incidents, the Palestinians locate all their military
resources among the civilian population, in clear violation
of international law and all norms of civilized behavior.
In one notable incident, 60 gunmen were holed up in a mosque
where they had fled, when hundreds of unarmed women
approached the area carrying women's clothes to allow the
militants under siege to escape. Among the women were also
several men, apparently armed. The ploy was successful and
the gunmen escaped from the mosque.
IDF soldiers also uncovered large amounts of weaponry
including rocket launchers, antitank missile launchers,
grenades, explosive devices, AK-47 assault rifles, various
ammunitions types, observation equipment and more. The IDF
believes that this has dealt a significant blow to the terror
organizations.
The IDF also targeted and hit nine rocket launching cells,
some of them also responsible for rocket manufacturing.
In addition, dozens of Palestinians suspected of terror
involvement were taken for questioning by security forces.
One IDF soldier was killed in exchanges of fire during the
operation.
An attempted suicide bombing against the forces was thwarted
following alerts about the planned attack. The female bomber
exploded relatively far away after being stopped by IDF
forces, lightly injuring one of the soldiers. Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility for the failed attack.
Aside from the fighting, dozens of vehicles went into Beit
Hanoun with food, medical teams, repairmen and additional
supplies.
Despite "significant operational achievements," a senior
officer said it was unlikely the offensive would eliminate
the firing of Kassams into Israel.
In related news, the Hamas and Fatah factions have been
negotiating about forming a unity government for the
Palestinian Authority. For the past several weeks there have
been repeated reports that they are near a final deal, but
none has been forthcoming.
The terms under which the government is being formed were not
announced. The effort is apparently the fruit of the
international boycott of the current Hamas government of the
Palestinian Authority that openly declares that it embraces
terror activities. The international community has thus far
insisted that in order to be recognized, a government must
renounce terror, agree to accept past agreements and
recognize Israel's right to exist.
Hamas has prominently declared that it will never agree to
any of these three, but Fatah does accept all of them. Thus
the Palestinians hope that by joining together they can work
out some formula that will be acceptable to the international
community.
