IDF kills 5 in Gaza as Qassams continue

Qassam rocket fire from the Gaza Strip continued over the weekend, as Israel Defense Forces killed five Palestinians in Gaza Friday and yesterday.

Yesterday a home in Sderot sustained a direct hit by a Qassam, which caused significant damage but no injuries. Shortly afterward, the IDF identified the cell apparently responsible for the launch and shot at it from the sky, killing Hamas activist Mohammed Khush and wounding four other militants. Also killed in Gaza yesterday was Ahmed Labad, 22, an Islamic Jihad activist hit by IDF fire while trying to shoot an RPG.

Two Qassams landed in Israel on Friday, one of which caused significant damage to the dining hall at Kibbutz Sa'ad in the Western Negev. On Friday night an unarmed Palestinian was killed by IDF soldiers near the Carni border crossing in the central Gaza Strip when they fired on three Palestinians approaching the border "in a suspicious manner."

Hamas militant Ayman Juda, 22, was killed by the IDF in the northern Gaza Strip. Abed al-Aziz Salaman, 10, was killed in the same incident.

Exchanges of gunfire continued over the weekend between the IDF and Palestinians in northern Gaza. Palestinians fired eight anti-tank missiles and threw seven explosive devices at IDF forces. On Friday morning two soldiers were slightly injured when their armored vehicle was damaged by an explosive device.

In the West Bank, the IDF and the Shin Bet security service discovered an explosives laboratory in Nablus. They found Teddy bears, apparently intended for use as bombs, as well as explosives belts, batteries and materials for making bombs. The laboratory was destroyed by IDF sappers.

The IDF arrested a senior Tanzim activist, Khaled Salim, in the Qalandiyah refugee camp in Ramallah. Salim was involved in a number of shooting attacks against Israelis and in planning abductions.