HAMAS LAUNCHES ROCKETS TO COVER KIDNAPPING ATTEMPT

Despite attacks, large-scale Gaza operation not expected (JPost)
The IDF will not embark on a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip despite the rocket and mortar attacks launched on Israel on Independence Day, security and government officials estimated on Tuesday evening. Instead, the IDF was expected to carry out a targeted response.

According to the officials, while a special cabinet meeting was not expected in the wake of the attacks, there would be "progression" talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, senior ministers and security officials.

Earlier Tuesday, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that "the Palestinian unity government would not be an insurance policy for any official."

The barrages of Kassam rockets and mortar shells Hamas fired at Israel on Tuesday morning were meant to provide cover for and distract attention from an attempted infiltration by a terror cell, whose members intended to kidnap IDF soldiers deployed along the Gaza border, IDF sources reported Tuesday afternoon.

The sources said that the army's heightened alert, as well as a quick response by ground troops and IAF helicopters that had been hovering over Gaza, foiled the attempt. According to preliminary reports, no cell managed to cross into Israel.

The IDF has been on high alert in recent weeks, ever since receiving intelligence that Hamas was planning to abduct soldiers in a raid similar to the one near Kerem Shalom in June, 2006 in which Cpl. Gilad Schalit was captured.

According to an IDF source, Tuesday's attack was "Hizbullah-style," in that the group launched rockets to distract the troops on patrol and provide cover for the cell members' movements.