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Gaza militants on Sunday fired a Qassam rocket and mortar rounds at Israel.
Last update - 18:03 22/02/2009
Gaza militants fire Qassam rocket, mortar rounds at Israel
By Yanir Yagna, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Gaza, Hamas, Qassam 

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday fired two mortar rounds at Israel Defense Forces soldiers near the border, Israel Radio reported.

A Qassam rocket hit the western Negev earlier on Sunday. There were no casualties or damages reported in either incident on Sunday.

On Saturday, a rocket struck Ashkelon, a day after Gaza militants fired 10 mortar shells and a Qassam rocket into the western Negev on Friday.
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IDF troops operating in the Kissufim area identified the soure of the rocket fire and opened fire in the direction of the launchers across the border.

The strikes came amid an apparent stalemate in Gaza Strip truce negotiations, following Israel's demand that a cease-fire be linked to the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Egypt opens Gaza border crossing to students, medical patients

Meanwhile, Egypt on Sunday opened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza to let students, third-country residents and medical patients stranded in the territory cross the usually closed frontier.

Spokesman Adel Zourab says Egypt has agreed to allow 500 students studying abroad and 500 others with valid residency permits for Egypt or other countries to pass through the border crossing Sunday. He says 800 medical cases will be allowed to cross on Monday.

Egypt sealed the border after Islamic Hamas militants seized control of Gaza in June 2007. It has occasionally opened the passage for limited periods.

European monitors on Sunday said they are ready to resume their assignment on the Gaza-Egypt border at a moment's notice, following an involuntary 20-month break, the head of the mission said.

In the past two weeks, 20 monitors returned to the region amid reports of
progress on a Palestinian power-sharing agreement and an Israel-Hamas prisoner swap - prerequisites for reopening the Gaza-Egypt border. For months, the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) had operated with a scaled-back staff of 18.

"We are waiting for all parties to agree," mission chief Col. Alain Faugeras said in an interview Friday.

The European monitors were deployed at the Rafah passenger terminal between Gaza and Egypt as part of a 2005 agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority of moderate President Mahmoud Abbas. The monitors were to reassure Israel that weapons and militants wouldn't get into Gaza after its pullout from the territory in the fall of 2005.

Israel has kept its crossings with Gaza closed. Rafah is Gaza's main gateway to the outside world.

Five Palestinians found dead in smuggling tunnel

Also Sunday, Gaza medics said five Palestinians have been found dead in a smuggling tunnel under the border with Egypt.

Health official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said the men suffocated in the cramped, makeshift tunnel.

Local residents say they were smuggling food into the strip, which has been under a crippling blockade since the violent Hamas movement seized control there in 2007.

Hassanain said the men died Saturday, but were only found on Sunday.

The body of one man killed in the same incident was retrieved on Saturday
making a total of five.

Halting Gaza's smuggling is a key issue in negotiations for a stable truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers.

The tunnels are used to smuggle food and consumer products, but also to run arms.

Related articles:
  • Gaza militants fire 10 mortar shells, Qassam rocket at Negev
  • Haniyeh: Hamas won Gaza war, but was wise to declare truce
  • Hamas: Shalit release not included in Gaza truce
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      1.   "first cross-border attack on Saturday...." 23:46  |  Baruch Gold 21/02/09
      2.   the first cross-border attack since Friday?? 00:01  |  Freethinker 22/02/09
      3.   Where is Israels retaliation. 00:08  |  Jon 22/02/09
      4.   In retaliation against gazans ruled Hamas war crimes 02:16  |  Joseph.E 22/02/09
      5.   Where are the lying politians 02:27  |  BobUSA 22/02/09
      6.   i breathed again after breathing a second ago 02:39  |  vik 22/02/09
      7.   this is crazy 02:45  |  Marcuss 22/02/09
      8.   Destroy the terrorists. 08:38  |  Jean Van Daem 22/02/09
      9.   And when Israel responds 17:35  |  Arie 22/02/09
      10.   This is how so-called militants negotiate 18:15  |  Avram 22/02/09
      11.   Hamas launches missiles, world says nothing 18:33  |  The Warrior 22/02/09
      12.   Right wing posters rejoice! 20:17  |  Natallie Durson 22/02/09
      13.   you where there last month... 20:26  |  indigenous 22/02/09
      14.   To Natallie (# 12). So the moral of your story is... 21:50  |  flyingdoc57 22/02/09
      15.   #14, flyingdoc to Natalie... 21:04  |  Silvienne 23/02/09
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