Operation Cast Lead
Day 7 - Friday 02 January 2009
Israeli air and naval forces attacked some 20 Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip during late night and early morning hours. Among the sites targeted by the IDF included the Headquarters of the military wing of Hamas, a vehicle transporting anti-aircraft missiles, a tunnel used to smuggle weaponry, rocket launchers armed and prepared for use, and weapons manufacturing and storage facilities. Last night (Jan 2) in a joint operation between the IDF and the ISA, the IAF struck a mosque in Jabaliya that was used as a terror hub by Hamas. The mosque was used as a storage site for a large amount of Grad missiles and additional weaponry used to fire at Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. The strike set off a lengthy series of secondary explosions and caused a large fire, due to the munitions stockpiled in the mosque. The mosque was also used as an operational center for Hamas, as a meeting place for its operatives, and a staging ground for terror attacks.
Last night (Jan.2), the IAF attacked a vehicle being driven byMamduq Jammal. Jammal is a Hamas battalion commander who is also involved in rocket launching and is in charge of the rocket launching squads in the Gaza City area. Among the other Hamas targets struck last night were the following:
- A college building in El-Atatra used by Hamas for terrorist purposes. The college was a base for firing rockets at Israeli communities and was also used as a hiding spot and assembly space by Hamas operatives.
- The house of Hamas terror operative Ismail Renam in Bet-Lehiya, located in the northern Gaza Strip, which functioned as a weapons storage facility, specifically for rocket launching equipment. Renam has a central role in the launching of Grad type rockets against Israel.
- The house of Azadin Hadad, a Hamas terror operative in Gaza City, that was used to orchestrate terror activity and as a meeting place for terror operatives. Hadad is the head of the Hamas military group in eastern Gaza City.
- A vehicle from which a Hamas operative loaded weapons into a storage place in Nuseirat.
The Israel Navy also took part in the attacks, targeting a number of Hamas outposts, training camps and rocket launching sites. Overall, more than 25 Hamas and other terrorist sites have been attacked since yesterday evening. The forces reported accurate hits. All of the forces returned to their bases safely.
Also on January 2, the IAF attacked the house of Muhammad Madhun, a terror operative responsible for firing rockets into Israel. Madhun's house was also used as a laboratory for the manufacturing of rockets and explosive devices and as a storage facility for rockets, mortar shells, and various weapons. The attack was carried out based on joint IDF and ISA intelligence information.
In addition, the IAF struck the house of Imad Akel in Nuseirat. Akel is a senior Hamas terror operative and his house was used as a large storage facility for weapons. Akel is a leader of the Hamas terror organization and is a leader of the Hamas rocket (Grads and Qassams) and mortar efforts, in addition to being a weapons manufacturer. Large secondary explosions were seen following the attack due to the presence of large amounts of weaponry.
The IAF has struck 35 in the Gaza Strip since this morning. Among the targets were the following:
- Five tunnels in the Rafah border area.
- Three weapons storage facilities including a rocket lathe in Han Yunes.
- Five Hamas outposts.
- A number of rocket launchers including the specific launcher used to fire rockets into Ashkelon this morning.
- A number of launching sites.
64 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid were transferred into the Gaza Strip today.
Over 30 rockets were fired into Israel and pounded both Ashkelon and the Western Negev. Over 500 rockets were fired into Israel over the last week. Rockets struck Ashkelon and Negev Friday morning; homes suffers direct hit. The IAF responded by destroying the rocket launchers used in the attack on Ashkelon.
Israel is allowing hundreds of foreign passport holders to leave the Gaza Strip, where a seven-day offensive against Hamas has killed nearly 420 Palestinians and wounded nearly 2,000 others. About 400 people were expected to evacuate Gaza Friday, raising speculation of a ground offensive by the thousands of Israeli troops massed along the border. A total of 101 Russian nationals and about 70 citizens of Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Belarus crossed the border. The citizens from Russia and other Soviet republics, who have been evacuated from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict area, are boarding buses, which will deliver them to Jordan.
Hamas vowed revenge after an Israeli air strike Thursday killed cleric Nizar Rayyan, the first senior leader of the Palestinian militant group to die in the offensive. The Israeli army locked down the West Bank Friday for 48 hours, prohibiting movement into the occupied Palestinian territory except in emergency cases. Israel also put thousands of security forces on alert, after Hamas urged Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem to protest in a "day of wrath" following mid-day prayers.
Despite Israel's bombing of key Hamas government buildings, smuggling tunnels and rocket launching sites, the Islamist militant group continues to fire rockets at Israel. Hamas attacks have killed four Israelis since Saturday.
The future of the Middle-East peace process, the stability of the region and the safety of ordinary people in the Gaza Strip have been seriously jeopardized by the "irresponsibility of Hamas rocket attacks" and the "excessiveness of Israel''s response," a senior United Nations envoy warned today, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict intensify. On the seventh day of Israeli bombing raids on Gaza and with more than 400 Gazans reportedly killed and thousands wounded, Robert Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, called for the international community to step up its attempts to end the growing humanitarian crisis.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
