Twelve terrorists were killed as the IDF carried out counter-terror operations in Judea, Samaria and northern and southern Gaza Tuesday night and Wednesday.

In Khan Yunis, next to the destroyed Jewish town of N’vei Dekalim, Islamic Jihad terrorist Di Abu Daka was killed in a gunbattle with IDF Givati Brigade troops pre-dawn Wednesday. Two more terrorists were wounded, and no IDF injuries were reported.

Three Hamas terrorists were later killed in Gaza City by an IDF tank shell after they engaged soldiers with anti-tank rockets. In addition, Islamic Jihad’s senior terrorist in charge of launching rockets, Raad Fanuneh, was killed in an explosion while driving in the city’s Sajaiya neighborhood. PA reports claimed it was an IAF air strike, but the IDF said it has no knowledge of such an attack.

The IDF forces entered Gaza through the Karni Crossing in the north and Sufa Crossing in the south for the two morning operations.

Shortly afterwards, terrorists fired a Kassam rocket from Gaza towards Sderot; it landed uneventfully in an open area. Later in the day, a second Kassam rocket slammed into the city's industrial zone, sending several people into shock.

An IDF tank in northern Gaza was damaged and two soldiers lightly injured when terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at it Wednesday before noon. The Salah a-Din Brigades of the Hizbullah-backed Popular Resistance Committees took responsibility for the attack.

IDF sources said that the army would continue to take action in Gaza to fight the terrorist threats against Israel, particularly the manufacture and launching of Kassam rockets.  This, regardless of the "internal Hamas-Fatah situation in Gaza, which is not Israel's concern." 

Judea and Samaria

IDF soldiers engaged an Islamic Jihad terrorist in a gun battle in Burkin, a village near Jenin, Tuesday night – after he resisted arrest and opened fire on the troops. The man was seriously wounded, despite PA reports he was killed in the fighting.

Two other terrorists were wounded in the fighting and taken to Afula’s HaEmek Hospital for treatement. No IDF injuries were reported. The terrorists were involved in Fatah terrorism in addition to Islamic Jihad operations.

Abbas Bans ‘Unauthorized’ Guns

Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas declared unauthorized guns banned from the streets of the PA-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria.  Army Radio reported that the directive applies mostly to Hamas, but also to those members of Fatah’s Al-Aksa Brigades terrorist group whose weapons are not authorized.

IDF Continues Humanitarian Aid Despite Dangers

The Kerem Shalom Crossing was closed Tuesday after terrorists targeted it with gunfire and mortar shells. A large bomb was discovered near the crossing earlier Tuesday.

The crossing had been used to transfer humanitarian assistance to the Arabs of Gaza. At least 80 trucks filled with food crossed into Gaza via the Sufa crossing after Kerem Shalom was closed. The shipment also contained 600,000 young plants for Gaza’s greenhouse farmers.