IDF forces moved this morning into strategic locations throughout the Gaza Strip and cut off key highways, effectively cutting the Strip into thirds. No word has been given how long the IDF activity will continue.

The military action came following the firing of five mortar shells yesterday evening on the southern Negev town of Sderot. In the attack, five 82mm shells fell on Sderot's westernmost neighborhood shortly after 6 pm. No injuries or damage were reported, but one driver on a nearby highway was briefly hospitalized for shock.

Sderot residents were asked to stay in their homes yesterday evening. There was no panic in the city but many residents expressed shock that Sderot had overnight become a border town.

IDF sources commented that the targeting of Sderot for the

"The attack on Sderot crossed all red lines" - IDF source

Palestinian attack might have been more than coincidental. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's farm is located just a few kilometers east of Sderot. Analysts suggested that the Palestinians might have been attempting to capture media attention the day after Israel's air strike against the Syrian radar post in Lebanon.

The mortar attack on Sderot was the first time a town in Israel was targeted by the Palestinians. One IDF source told Ha'aretz that the mortar attack on Sderot "crossed all red lines."

IDF stages major retaliatory action
IDF forces immediately opened fire on Palestinian positions in Beit Hanun, a location in the northeastern Gaza Strip from which mortars have been fired in the past. Palestinians reported that that three people were injured in tank fire on a Palestinian police station.

IAF helicopter gunships and Israeli Navy ships rocketed the headquarters of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's Force 17, Palestinian Police positions, and a naval post in Deir el Balah yesterday night.

The IDF announced after midnight that ground forces, including tanks and bulldozers, had entered PA-controlled areas in the Strip.

This morning the IDF took a number of strategic positions in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian sources, the IDF stationed tanks, jeeps and troops in Beit Hanun. A number of major highways were blockaded, effectively dividing the Gaza Strip into three sections: Khan Yunis to Rafah, Gush Katif to Netzarim and Gaza City south.

According to a statement released by the IDF, "Israeli soldiers will capture any area demanded by security." Even so, the IDF stated it "does not intend to capture Area A and with the end of the mission the forces will leave the land."

Ra'anan Gissin, advisor to the Prime Minister, termed the mortar attack on Sderot a "very serious escalation" that justified Israel's response. He said that further actions, including ground operations, "will make it more difficult to launch these kinds of attacks."

Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo condemned the IDF actions, saying that the strikes in the Gaza Strip were the severest attacks on the Palestinians since 1967. "This is a massacre," Rabbo said. "We will turn to the Security Council and ask them again to send an international force to the region."

Sources in the Palestinian Authority said this morning that as long as Israel sends its forces to operate in Area A, Palestinians will continue to attack targets in Israel and fire mortars over the Green Line into Israel proper.

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