Israel Air Force (IAF) pilots eliminated one terrorist in attacks on two Gaza terror cells Saturday night as they were launching rocket attacks on Israel.
In the first strike, at approximately 10:00 p.m., IAF helicopter pilots fired missiles at a terror cell south of Beit Hanoun as the operatives were engaged in launching a rocket attack against a Jewish community in southern Israel. Pilots reported a direct hit, although Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists said that no one was injured in the strike. A rocket launcher was reportedly destroyed.
The second strike, which came about an hour later, hit a Gaza rocket-launching cell near Jabalya. At least one member of the Hamas terrorist organization was killed in the attack, according to a report broadcast on Voice of Israel government radio.
Also on Saturday night, Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided to keep the Gaza crossings closed for another day in retaliation for more than a dozen rocket and mortar attacks emanating from the region over the Sabbath.
Early Saturday evening, the action had escalated with a Grad rocket attack on Ashkelon as well. Two Grad-type medium-range Katyusha rockets slammed into the southern coastal city just before 6:00 p.m., seconds after residents were warned by the incoming missile alert system. One of the rockets reached the northern section of the city; the other exploded in the industrial zone. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Several hours earlier, terrorists in northern Gaza fired two Kassam rockets and a mortar shell at kibbutzim in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council district. The Popular Resistance Committees’ Salah a-Din Brigades terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
On Saturday morning, a barrage of mortar shells was fired by Gaza terrorists at communities in the Eshkol Regional Council district. Two of the shells exploded in open areas; others failed to clear the security barrier and landed in Gaza.
Nine Kassam rockets were fired at the western Negev on Friday night, including one that exploded on the outskirts of the city of Sderot during the prayers welcoming the Sabbath. Most of the others landed in open fields.
Palestinian Authority terrorist groups claimed the attacks over the Sabbath were launched in retaliation for violence by Jews against Arab residents of Hevron on Thursday. The clashes followed a violent expulsion of Jews from their homes in the Peace House building in Hevron by government forces.
Weapons Cache Uncovered in Sinai
Two weapons caches have been uncovered by Egyptian troops in the Sinai Peninsula, according to an unconfirmed report published Saturday by the Arabic-language website Falastin al Youm.
The two caches were discovered deep underground in the northern and middle part of the peninsula, both likely intended for shipment to Gaza through one of the hundreds of smuggler tunnels that honeycomb the region.
One of the arsenals contained 211 anti-aircraft missile shells, each of which contains a certain amount of dynamite. According to an official quoted by Voice of Israel government radio, Gaza terrorists extract the dynamite from the shells for use in attacks against Israel. The second cache contained more than 250 kilograms of dynamite.
The smugglers who buried the explosives and shells were not caught.