News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Fatah-aligned Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Gaza has announced it has launched a Punch Wall 2 operation against Israel. It vowed to "shower Israeli settlements with hundreds of projectiles and missiles," according to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency.

A sharp increase in mortar shelling has taken place in the past week, causing at least two light injuries at the area of the Erez crossing. Terrorists also have escalated Kassam rocket attacks on the western Negev, and one rocket this week fell near Ashkelon.