Two days after the launching of Kassam-2 rockets at Israeli targets, Israeli armored units and infantry troops moved into the Gaza Strip in an operation aimed at arresting suspects and capturing rockets, mortars and other weapons. Hours later, IDF troops withdrew from the Deir el-Balah and Jabaliya refugee camps, and from the town of Beit Lahiya, but forces continued to operate in Beit Hanoun, suspected launch site of the rockets.

Three Palestinian policemen were killed in a gunfight with Israel troops in Deir el-Balah, when an Israeli bulldozer destroyed their position. Israeli sources said the men were killed by tank fire when it appeared that they were about to open fire. Palestinian sources also said that a 19-year-old died of wounds suffered during clashes in Beit Hanoun. There were no immediate reports of Israeli casualties in the operation.

At least twelve Palestinians, Hamas and Islamic Jihad members suspected of terrorist activity against Israel, were arrested, Army Radio reported. But military sources believe most of the senior militants being sought managed to flee the area before the Israeli operation began. Israeli newscasts Tuesday night broadcast reports of preparations for the military action, and Israeli officials had warned for two days of possible IDF responses to Sunday's Kassam launching. Palestinian sources told ynet, "Anyone who had to hide or escape, managed to do so."

The IDF operation began shortly after a Palestinian mortar attack on the settlement of Alei Sinai on the northern border of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces moved into Deir el-Balah, and then after midnight, troops advanced into Palestinian territories in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources said camp leaders in Jabaliya used mosque loudspeakers to encourage residents to combat the Israeli troops, and that there were exchanges of gunfire. The army made no mention of the Jabaliya actions in its statements.

In Beit Hanoun, considered by the army as a "Hamas bastion where many terrorist attacks, including the firing of mortar bombs" have been planned and carried out, tanks reportedly took up positions around the partially destroyed house of Salah Shahada, a leading Hamas militant said to be high on Israel's wanted list.

Operation expected to last for a few days
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh told Army Radio that the operation was expected to last for a few days. "It could be that the hunt for rockets and launchers necessitates a wide-ranging, extensive operation, but that doesn't mean we intend to reconquer [Palestinian territories]." Sneh said the operation's goal was "to locate Kassam rocket manufacture and launch sites. If you locate them, you destroy them."

Residents of Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip and Negev praised the Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip. Shay Hermesh, head of the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, told Army Radio that communities in the region were not prepared for the threat of Kassam rockets. "We're talking about rockets with a warhead of over 7 kilograms," he said.

Israeli military sources believe that the Hamas has decided to begin firing Kassam rockets at Israeli cities from launch locations in the West Bank, Yediot Aharonot reported. An apparent Kassam launch attempt was made in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus on Tuesday, but no rocket fragments were found and Palestinian sources denied that any rockets were fired.

Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who has frequently warned that the firing of Kassam rockets was a red line necessitating a higher level of Israeli response, said on Tuesday that if additional rockets were fired, Israel would move into Palestinian territories and form "security zones" there to distance the threat from Israeli cities. "Our [actions there] will ensure a reduction of the advantages of the Kassam rocket at this distance," he said. "We will stay there until it becomes clear there is no such risk," he added.

Senior IDF officers reportedly voiced criticism of the initial stages of Israel's response to the firing Sunday of at least two Kassam rockets, which landed in the fields of Kibbutz Sa'ad and Moshav Shuva, causing no injuries or damage. On Sunday and Monday, IAF fighter jets and helicopters fired missiles at Palestinian security facilities in Gaza City and Jabaliya. The air strikes, which resulted in dozens of Palestinian injuries, structural damage and a harsh rebuke from U.S. officials, would not deter additional rocket attacks, the unnamed officers said.

© 2001-2002 Koret Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.