Before withdrawing, army forces killed several enemy gunmen, including a number who were preparing to fire rockets at Jewish targets.
Immediately after the IDF withdrawal last night, Gush Katif suffered nine mortar shell attacks, and the north Gaza Erez Industrial Park was again today targeted by enemy artillery. In addition, IDF forces came under anti-tank and roadside bomb attacks in Gaza's Beit Hanoun area.
If the attacks continue, the IDF will return, according to Givati Brigade commander Col. Eyal Eisenberg. "The Palestinians' actions will dictate future action [on our part]," he told reporters.
Even during the military offensive, terrorists continued to rain missiles on S'derot and kibbutzim east of Gaza, as well as on Jewish communities in northern and southern Gaza. Two mortar shells exploded in the Erez Industrial Park Sunday morning, one of them critically injuring a 25-year-old man who is undergoing lengthy surgery in Asheklon's Barzilai Hospital. S'derot again was the target of missiles Sunday, which caused damage but no injuries. Missiles also fell between an infirmary and community dining hall on a nearby kibbutz.
IDF forces had been operating for four days in the city of Khan Yunis, next to Jewish communities in Gush Katif. Army forces entered northern Gaza in an effort to stop the assaults in the S'derot area, but the government ordered the army to withdraw after several hours.
Virtually every Israeli media analyst reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was influenced by Palestinian Authority leaders' accusations that continued Israeli army retaliation would disrupt the elections next week for a successor to Yasser Arafat.
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), PA acting president and leading candidate in the presidential elections, said, "The target of this escalation puts an obstacle in the way of the Palestinian election. The democratic process here is being put in danger."
Immediately after the IDF withdrawal last night, Gush Katif suffered nine mortar shell attacks, and the north Gaza Erez Industrial Park was again today targeted by enemy artillery. In addition, IDF forces came under anti-tank and roadside bomb attacks in Gaza's Beit Hanoun area.
If the attacks continue, the IDF will return, according to Givati Brigade commander Col. Eyal Eisenberg. "The Palestinians' actions will dictate future action [on our part]," he told reporters.
Even during the military offensive, terrorists continued to rain missiles on S'derot and kibbutzim east of Gaza, as well as on Jewish communities in northern and southern Gaza. Two mortar shells exploded in the Erez Industrial Park Sunday morning, one of them critically injuring a 25-year-old man who is undergoing lengthy surgery in Asheklon's Barzilai Hospital. S'derot again was the target of missiles Sunday, which caused damage but no injuries. Missiles also fell between an infirmary and community dining hall on a nearby kibbutz.
IDF forces had been operating for four days in the city of Khan Yunis, next to Jewish communities in Gush Katif. Army forces entered northern Gaza in an effort to stop the assaults in the S'derot area, but the government ordered the army to withdraw after several hours.
Virtually every Israeli media analyst reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was influenced by Palestinian Authority leaders' accusations that continued Israeli army retaliation would disrupt the elections next week for a successor to Yasser Arafat.
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), PA acting president and leading candidate in the presidential elections, said, "The target of this escalation puts an obstacle in the way of the Palestinian election. The democratic process here is being put in danger."