IDF soldiers retaliated overnight in Gaza to punish Hamas for massive attacks against civilians in the western Negev on Thursday.
An IDF spokesperson confirmed that forces attacked a Palestinian Authority terrorist cell near the northern Gaza town of Jabalya early Friday morning in Gaza. At least three terrorists were killed in the operation, according to PA sources.
The cell was responsible for launching dozens of rocket and mortar attacks against Israel late Thursday.
IDF Blocks Attempted Suicide Attack
Late Thursday afternoon, IDF soldiers stymied an attempt by terrorists to infiltrate through the security barrier in northern Gaza using an armored bulldozer loaded with explosives.
The booby-trapped vehicle was headed for one of the Gaza crossings in the area in an attempt to carry out a suicide bombing under cover of a barrage of rocket and mortar fire.
Earlier in the afternoon, soldiers shot at a terrorist driving a tractor toward the security barrier in a similar bombing attempt.
Shuttle Diplomacy Continues Amid Rocket and Mortar Fire
The head of Israel's Diplomatic-Security Bureau within the Defense Ministry, Amos Gilad, returned to Jerusalem amid the hailstorm of rockets and mortar shells Thursday afternoon after delivering Israel's ceasefire proposal to Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.
Gilad informed Defense Minister Ehud Barak that Suleiman said he would convey the message to Hamas officials in Gaza. The Egyptian intelligence chief said he expects to receive the terrorist group's response to the proposal by next week.
Meanwhile, a barrage of 25 Kassam rockets and close to 50 mortar shells was raining onto the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council and neighboring areas following a massive explosion that rocked the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiyeh.
An IDF spokesperson told Arutz-7's IsraelNationalNews.com that the blast which reduced a four-story building to rubble was "an internal explosion" and that the army "had nothing whatsoever to do with it."
At first Hamas blamed Israel, launching the hours-long barrage of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli civilians in the western Negev in response. Later, the terror organization retracted the accusation. One woman was moderately injured by flying shrapnel and a number of people were treated for emotional shock.
In Pursuit of 'Calm'
The Security Cabinet decided Wednesday morning to pursue a tahadiyeh, or period of "calm", with Gaza terrorists and sent Gilad to Egypt with plans for a two-stage process that also included the release of kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit in the second phase.
Hamas has demanded that Israel include Rafiah in the list of Gaza crossings to be reopened as part of the ceasefire agreement. Rafiah is the region's only outlet to the international arena, straddling Israel and Gaza's border with Egypt.
Israel has refused to include Rafiah in the deal, according to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who told reporters on Thursday that "Any agreement must include a timetable for the opening of the Gaza crossings and a list of goods that can be transferred through them."
Hamas has refused to entertain any discussion of including Shalit in any ceasefire deal in the past. Moreover, tons of goods and thousands of liters of fuel are transferred through the crossings into Gaza, in shipments of humanitarian aid from Israel every week.
Security Cabinet Sets 2-Week Deadline
Although a specific waiting period was not immediately publicized, sources later said that the Securty Cabinet was willing to give Hamas approximately two weeks in which to agree to the terms.
If no ceasefire is negotiated within that time, it is likely the IDF will invade Gaza in a massive military operation designed to put an end to the threat of terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.