The Israel Defense Forces' Operation "Days of Penitence" continues for its fifth day, and the army has scored two successes since last night. An Israel Air Force helicopter targeted a car in Gaza City last night carrying two senior Hamas terrorists, and killed both in a direct missile hit. This morning, a terror cell launching mortar rockets was hit in mid-launch - the 9th time this has occurred in the past few days - and two terrorists were killed.
Mahadi Mushtaha, 34, was the primary target of last night's attack. He was a senior leader of the Kassam production and development apparatus in Gaza, managing workshops and labs producing components of the Kassam rockets. Killed with him was Haled Amariti, 28, who specialized in the training of new terror recruits. Earlier in the evening, an IAF helicopter gunship fired at a three-man terrorist cell that was placing explosives to detonate against Israeli troops operating in the area.
Operation "Days of Penitence" was initiated on Thursday, several hours after a Kassam attack at the Negev city of Sderot killed an Israeli baby and his 4-year-old cousin who were playing outside the home of one of them. It is estimated that 80% of the some 60 Arabs killed in the offensive were terrorists of either Hamas or the Al-Aksa Brigades. However, it is also estimated that the terrorists continue to manufacture the powerful Kassam rockets, and are currently in possession of 100-200 rockets. "If Israel does not destroy the Kassam rocket infrastructure, including chemists and others who are involved in the planning, it is just a question of time before the terrorists increase the Kassams' range so that they can fire them even from within the area into which the IDF is pushing them," says military analyst Ze'ev Schiff.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a series of interviews last night and this morning that the offensive is open-ended and will not stop until the Arabs stop shelling Jewish homes. He further said that the disengagement - i.e., the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and northern Shomron, including the expulsion of close to 8,500 Jews from their homes - will take place as planned, and will be executed "quietly."
Mahadi Mushtaha, 34, was the primary target of last night's attack. He was a senior leader of the Kassam production and development apparatus in Gaza, managing workshops and labs producing components of the Kassam rockets. Killed with him was Haled Amariti, 28, who specialized in the training of new terror recruits. Earlier in the evening, an IAF helicopter gunship fired at a three-man terrorist cell that was placing explosives to detonate against Israeli troops operating in the area.
Operation "Days of Penitence" was initiated on Thursday, several hours after a Kassam attack at the Negev city of Sderot killed an Israeli baby and his 4-year-old cousin who were playing outside the home of one of them. It is estimated that 80% of the some 60 Arabs killed in the offensive were terrorists of either Hamas or the Al-Aksa Brigades. However, it is also estimated that the terrorists continue to manufacture the powerful Kassam rockets, and are currently in possession of 100-200 rockets. "If Israel does not destroy the Kassam rocket infrastructure, including chemists and others who are involved in the planning, it is just a question of time before the terrorists increase the Kassams' range so that they can fire them even from within the area into which the IDF is pushing them," says military analyst Ze'ev Schiff.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a series of interviews last night and this morning that the offensive is open-ended and will not stop until the Arabs stop shelling Jewish homes. He further said that the disengagement - i.e., the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and northern Shomron, including the expulsion of close to 8,500 Jews from their homes - will take place as planned, and will be executed "quietly."