IDF GOES AFTER GAZA ROCKET LAUNCHERS

IDF Anti-Rocket Operation in Gaza Targets Hamas Gunmen - Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay
11 Palestinians were killed in exchanges of fire in Gaza as Israel pressed its military campaign against rocket squads on Thursday. Two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in the fighting. IDF troops had probed about 1 km inside Gaza on a routine operation against rocket squads when Israel Air Force aircraft covering their advance spotted a group of armed Palestinians approaching. The aircraft fired at the gunmen and a ground battle developed between the patrol and the militants. Witnesses reported a heavy exchange of fire as IDF tanks and bulldozers moved in and soldiers took positions on rooftops. Hamas said most of the dead in the clashes were its members, including Mohammed Siam, 37, the Hamas field commander in central Gaza. (Ha'aretz)

See also Palestinians in Gaza Fire Mortars at Israel
Palestinians in Gaza fired three mortar shells that landed in Israel's western Negev on Thursday evening. (Jerusalem Post)

THE U.N. WOULD PREFER ISRAEL TO JUST SIT BACK AND ALLOW ROCKETS TO RAIN DOWN UPON ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND SHULS: UN secretary-general expresses 'deep concern' over IDF's activity in Gaza