Operation "Seek and Destroy," also known as Operation Rainbow, began after midnight last night, with large IDF forces operating in the Tel Sultan neighborhood on the edge of Rafiach. The forces began entering the area Monday morning, streaming in infantry, armor, and engineering units to the southern Gaza location.
IDF spokesmen say that the current offensive, designed to weed out terror operations and infrastructures from Rafiach, will take several days, but will not be on the scale of Operation Defensive Shield. The latter was a three-week affair in April 2002, waged largely in Shechem and Ramallah.
Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz said that the purpose of the operation is not to destroy houses, but to prevent the continued smuggling of weapons from Egypt into Gaza. He said that the terrorists are making "supreme attempts" to bring in weapons that will "disturb the balance of power" in the region.
Arabs have been firing sporadically at the forces, and 15-18 Arabs are reported to have been killed in the operation, including two groups of terrorists firing anti-tank missiles. There have been no Israeli casualties. Several abandoned structures that presented a danger to the soldiers have been razed. There is no intention at present to destroy buildings other than those used by terrorists and gunmen. The UN and many European countries have condemned Israel's plans to raze buildings, and the United States has asked for Israel to "clarify" its intentions.
In the meanwhile, former Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Dan Shomron said last night that there is no one with whom to talk on the PA side, Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler reports. "As one who served as Chief of Staff and Southern Region Commander," Shomron said, "I know the area and the situation very well. The Palestinians will stop at nothing short of the liquidation of the State of Israel... Unless one central authority arises that smashes all the terror organizations, like in Jordan, we have no one to talk to there."
IDF Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror said today, "The American 'concerns' are only political in nature; behind closed doors, they admit that we are acting much more carefully and morally than they did in Karbala... The Americans fired a tank shell on a mosque, and explained that according to the Geneva Convention, 'if the enemy fires from within a mosque, we are allowed to return fire.'" Amidror, who headed the National Defense Academies, served as head of the research and assessment division of IDF Military Intelligence, and was military secretary to the Minister of Defense, continued,
"The terrorists are fighting us from within civilian areas; to tell us not to fight there is like telling us not to fight at all. Does this mean that everything is permitted? Of course not! Those who wish to leave, or are not taking part in the fighting, should not be harmed. I can tell you that these soldiers, some of whom I raised, will under no circumstances - except by mistake - fire at or harm a building from which they are not attacked or that does not have a tunnel ending in it."
On another front, IDF forces killed an armed terrorist near Jenin, in the Shomron. He was Muhammad Abed, wanted for several years for his responsibility for dozens of shooting attacks and bombs. Another terrorist was wounded and apprehended in today's incident.
IDF spokesmen say that the current offensive, designed to weed out terror operations and infrastructures from Rafiach, will take several days, but will not be on the scale of Operation Defensive Shield. The latter was a three-week affair in April 2002, waged largely in Shechem and Ramallah.
Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz said that the purpose of the operation is not to destroy houses, but to prevent the continued smuggling of weapons from Egypt into Gaza. He said that the terrorists are making "supreme attempts" to bring in weapons that will "disturb the balance of power" in the region.
Arabs have been firing sporadically at the forces, and 15-18 Arabs are reported to have been killed in the operation, including two groups of terrorists firing anti-tank missiles. There have been no Israeli casualties. Several abandoned structures that presented a danger to the soldiers have been razed. There is no intention at present to destroy buildings other than those used by terrorists and gunmen. The UN and many European countries have condemned Israel's plans to raze buildings, and the United States has asked for Israel to "clarify" its intentions.
In the meanwhile, former Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Dan Shomron said last night that there is no one with whom to talk on the PA side, Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler reports. "As one who served as Chief of Staff and Southern Region Commander," Shomron said, "I know the area and the situation very well. The Palestinians will stop at nothing short of the liquidation of the State of Israel... Unless one central authority arises that smashes all the terror organizations, like in Jordan, we have no one to talk to there."
IDF Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror said today, "The American 'concerns' are only political in nature; behind closed doors, they admit that we are acting much more carefully and morally than they did in Karbala... The Americans fired a tank shell on a mosque, and explained that according to the Geneva Convention, 'if the enemy fires from within a mosque, we are allowed to return fire.'" Amidror, who headed the National Defense Academies, served as head of the research and assessment division of IDF Military Intelligence, and was military secretary to the Minister of Defense, continued,
"The terrorists are fighting us from within civilian areas; to tell us not to fight there is like telling us not to fight at all. Does this mean that everything is permitted? Of course not! Those who wish to leave, or are not taking part in the fighting, should not be harmed. I can tell you that these soldiers, some of whom I raised, will under no circumstances - except by mistake - fire at or harm a building from which they are not attacked or that does not have a tunnel ending in it."
On another front, IDF forces killed an armed terrorist near Jenin, in the Shomron. He was Muhammad Abed, wanted for several years for his responsibility for dozens of shooting attacks and bombs. Another terrorist was wounded and apprehended in today's incident.