Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., September 19, 2007 , | | Israel Time: 21:37 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Print Edition
Diplomacy
Defense Arts & Leisure Real Estate Jewish World National Advertising
Magazine Week's End Business Opinion Rosner's Domain Anglo File Books Travel
Israeli policemen standing behind a Qassam rocket fired from Gaza into the western Negev on Wednesday. (Reuters)
del.icio.us
Digg It!  new
Last update - 17:50 15/09/2007
One Palestinian injured, nine arrested in IDF Gaza incursion
By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and News Agencies

Palestinian medics said a 17-year-old Palestinian was seriously hurt in fighting when two small groups of Israel Defense Forces ground troops entered the Gaza Strip on Saturday. The IDF confirmed it made nine arrests in the raid, but said it had no information on injuries.

An IDF spokesperson said the army was conducting routine activity against perceived terror threats in the coastal enclave when Palestinian militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at its troops.

It was not yet clear whether the wounded Palestinian youth was a militant or a bystander. Palestinian medics said he in a serious condition after being shot in the stomach. Palestinian witnesses said the boy was shot in his home in Beit Hanoun, and was not a militant.

Advertisement
Tensions between Israel and Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June, have increased sharply after a makeshift rocket fired into Israel by militants wounded 69 IDF soldiers this week. (Click here for more from Haaretz.com TV)

The army frequently carries out operations in border areas to try to curb rocket attacks by militants in Gaza. Israel has so far opted against a major offensive in the territory but this week's rocket attack rekindled calls for tougher reprisals.

Violence erupted on Friday between Israelis and Palestinians in a number of separate incidents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as Muslims and Jews celebrated the religious holidays of Ramadan and Rosh Hashana.

In the northern West Bank, two Israeli civilians were lightly wounded Friday afternoon in a drive-by shooting attack.

The two were driving near the settlement of Karnei Shomron when they were hit. They were taken by Magen David Adom emergency medical services to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

The IDF sent troops to search for the perpetrators of the shooting, and checkpoints were set up in an attempt to stop them.

Also Friday, Israel Air Force aircraft struck a car carrying Palestinian gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip. No one was hurt in the strike.

A witness who would only give his name as Mohammed said he saw a car stop suddenly and the passengers jump out just before the vehicle exploded. "The blast was apparently caused by a missile," Mohammed said.

Hamas security officials told Hamas TV that Israel had launched an air strike. Medics said they evacuated no injured people.

A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad militant group, Abu Hamza, said the car was hit by a missile and was carrying a field commander of the group. "The two passengers escaped unharmed," Abu Hamza said.

The IDF confirmed it had launched an airstrike, saying it targeted rocket launching cells.

Meanwhile, Palestinian militants fired five mortar shells at the border fence with Israel, Israel Radio reported. No injuries or damage were reported. Palestinians had fired four mortar shells earlier in the day, bringing Friday's total to nine.

At dawn on Friday, IDF soldiers entered the southern Gaza Strip, an army spokesperson and local residents said. Palestinians also reported a presence of troops in the north of the coastal strip, but the IDF did not confirm the report.

Saturday's ground incursion was the third since Tuesday, when the rocket struck the base and wounded 69 IDF soldiers.

One soldier was critically wounded in the early morning strike on the Zikkim basic training base for non-combat personnel, which is located near the Gaza Strip. Four others were seriously hurt, and another 10 were moderately wounded. The remainder were lightly hurt, many of them suffering mainly from shock.

Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees took responsibility for the attack, while Hamas, which controls the Strip, the rocket strike as a "victory from God."
Bookmark to del.icio.us
Dead tide
Camel and horse carcasses washed up on Tel Aviv beaches baffled police.
Never give up
The World Bank's recommendations for Gaza are nearly impossible to implement.
  1.   Pitiful Israel with Livni and Olmert lying under Abbas and enjoyi 13:18  |  Absolute Sweden 12/09/07
  2.   Hamas, be patient, your time will come 13:18  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 12/09/07
  3.   If they have schools in Gaza 13:25  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 12/09/07
  4.   israel detterence 13:27  |  scanadu 12/09/07
  5.   And I thought the Palestinians only wanted to live in peace 14:04  |  Ronit 12/09/07
  6.   Olmert should release them as goodwill gesture 14:45  |  eddie karaite 12/09/07
  7.   Johnboy does it again 15:17  |  JES 12/09/07
  8.   victory from God 15:27  |  Slibovitz 12/09/07
  9.   Looking forward to the: 15:27  |  POP 12/09/07
  10.   Islamic Jihad & Popular Resistance Committees took responsibility 15:30  |  Judge 12/09/07
  11.   Future weapons? 15:44  |  Yitzhak 12/09/07
  12.   to Absolute Sweden 16:26  |  dovale 12/09/07
  13.   There`s gonna be a hot time in Gaza 16:36  |  * BEN JABO 12/09/07
  14.   Mazal Tov, Haaretz 16:54  |  Ronnie 12/09/07
  15.   RE: #14 17:20  |  roger 12/09/07
  16.   Terror and terrorists 17:31  |  Fred Fishbourne 12/09/07
  17.   Silvienne - now you know 17:40  |  * BEN JABO 12/09/07
  18.   The territories are always "under closure", what`s new? 18:31  |  Silvienne 12/09/07
  19.   striking open areas 19:19  |  Avi 12/09/07
  20.   This was expected after removing so many checkpoints for Arabs 19:46  |  Genuine Tosefta 12/09/07
  21.   Good the security forces 20:38  |  KUTW 12/09/07
  22.   Time for a ground assault!! 20:57  |  Ryan 12/09/07
  23.   18. Silvienne: Your friends are always at it, what?s new? 21:35  |  KUTW 12/09/07
  24.   18. Silvienne : What?s the difference? 21:38  |  KUTW 12/09/07
  25.   18 Silvienne: Israel is always under the terrorists threat 21:41  |  KUTW 12/09/07
  26.   17. * BEN JABO: such frustration 21:45  |  KUTW 12/09/07
  27.   20 Genuine Tosefta - How Many? 22:27  |  Mark of Lewiston 12/09/07
  28.   #18..Silvienne 22:30  |  Nemesis 12/09/07
  29.   #6 The Giving Tree 22:57  |  ka 12/09/07
  30.   #18 What;s new ? 23:12  |  ka 12/09/07
  31.   terrorist attack 23:46  |  vs 12/09/07
  32.   $28 Silvienne 00:06  |  * BEN JABO 13/09/07
  33.   #19 Isn`t striking open areas... 00:12  |  MaryRose 13/09/07
  34.   RE: #6 00:16  |  Avi 13/09/07
  35.   MaryRose 00:48  |  * BEN JABO 13/09/07
  36.   Looking forward to the: 01:17  |  POP 13/09/07
  37.   what israel must do even before assault on gaza 01:29  |  vik 13/09/07
  38.   #37 Vik 02:07  |  * BEN JABO 13/09/07
  39.   #36 POP - I see you`ve blown your cork 02:10  |  * BEN JABO 13/09/07
  40.   Always Resist... 03:26  |  PAUL 13/09/07
  41.   to # 5 Ronit = keep the course for occupation, 03:39  |  Steve the Pals. 13/09/07
  42.   Innocent until proven guilty 03:51  |  POP 13/09/07
  43.   roadblocks, etal 04:10  |  Mark T 13/09/07
  44.   #18 Silvienne 04:28  |  * BEN JABO 13/09/07
  45.   #42 POP - You`re the pathetic creature 05:02  |  * BEN JABO 13/09/07
  46.   Might as well fire into another empty field 05:11  |  Avi 13/09/07
  47.   Don`t remove those troops! 05:18  |  Shlomo Michoels 13/09/07
  48.   #43DORIS IS UNCONSCIOUS ABOUT THE REAL WORLD 05:19  |  PAUL HARRIS 13/09/07
  49.   #43 DEMENTED DUTCH 05:30  |  * BEN JABO 13/09/07
  50.   all pals in gaza complicit sang songs of joy took/gave out candy 06:07  |  ralph 13/09/07
  51.   Instead of an incursion... 06:08  |  Avi 13/09/07
  52.   #17, Ben Jabo... 06:14  |  Silvienne 13/09/07
  53.   Hey Dutch 06:15  |  Avi 13/09/07
  54.   #32, Ben Jabo... 06:17  |  Silvienne 13/09/07
  55.   #26, KUTW.... 06:20  |  Silvienne 13/09/07
  56.   KUTW, you write me 3 posts back to my 1 post?? 06:21  |  Silvienne 13/09/07
  57.   #35, the tunnels... 06:25  |  Silvienne 13/09/07
  58.   #30, Ka from Israel... 06:32  |  Silvienne 13/09/07
  59.   55. Silvienne 08:02  |  KUTW 13/09/07
  60.   56. Silvienne 08:04  |  KUTW 13/09/07
  61.   #43 - Dear Dutch, Love You Too! 09:51  |  JES 13/09/07
  62.   5768 part 1 09:55  |  Maven 13/09/07
  63.   5768 and counting, part 2 09:58  |  Maven 13/09/07
  64.   For Silvienne # 57 10:25  |  Clickfool 13/09/07
  65.   Clickfool 10:54  |  KUTW 13/09/07
  66.   # Cipora Julianna Kohn 11:07  |  Nick Ferriman 13/09/07
  67.   Hi *BEN JABO #50 11:09  |  Esther 13/09/07
  68.   # 16 Fred fishbourne 11:14  |  Nick Ferriman 13/09/07
  69.   # 51 Ralph. Nazi discourse 11:30  |  Nick Ferriman 13/09/07
  70.   # 11 Yitzhak, 11:36  |  Nick Ferriman 13/09/07
  71.   Maven 63 + 64 - AMEN (end) 11:43  |  ChanahS 13/09/07
  72.   #3, is a fake, as I had tried to say already 12:10  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 13/09/07
  73.   #69 - Wrong Nick 12:11  |  JES 13/09/07
  74.   #67, Nick, #3 is not my post 12:13  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 13/09/07
  75.   Muslims plot terror on our holy days 12:43  |  Nik Miller 13/09/07
  76.   #40 #40 15:24  |  I AGREE 13/09/07
  77.   Dutch--closures 16:01  |  Mark T 13/09/07
  78.   Nick 67 16:09  |  Mark T 13/09/07
  79.   Israel commits terrorism on Holy Day 16:09  |  PAUL 13/09/07
  80.   take a couple of miles from gaza 16:16  |  ross 13/09/07