IAF continues to target Hamas in Gaza

The Jerusalem Post reports:

At least five Palestinians were killed as IAF aircraft continued to hammer Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip late Saturday night and early Sunday.

Palestinians said aircraft targeted a mosque near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, destroying it. Two bodies were retrieved from the rubble. The army said the mosque was a base for terrorist activities.

Palestinian sources reported early Sunday morning that IAF aircraft had targeted the Al Aqsa TV station used by Hamas.

The studio building was destroyed, but the station remained on the air with a mobile unit, the sources said.

Palestinians counted about 20 air-strikes in the first hours of Sunday.

On Saturday night, IAF aircraft attacked a Kassam launching crew in Gaza, killing three of its members. Palestinians said four others were wounded in the attack.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak allowed crossings into Gaza to be opened on Sunday for humanitarian aid to go through, signaling to the world that Israel was fighting a war against Hamas in Gaza but not against the civilian population.

IDF tanks were making their way from the Golan Heights to the south of Israel in the morning hours and ground troops amassed at the Gaza border. Barak told Sky News that the military would deploy ground troops if necessary but avoided providing additional details.

As the first day of the operation neared its end the military reported a very low percentage of civilian deaths in a difficult theater which is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The army cited only about 15 deaths out of more than 230 Palestinian casualties.

Nevertheless, defense officials said Sunday that Israel would not hesitate to target the homes of civilians who protected Hamas terrorists throughout the operation.

"We will go after every Hamas operative, no matter where he is," they said. "We call on Palestinians not to cooperate with terrorists."

More than 210 targets were hit by IAF aircraft throughout Saturday. At least 230 Gazans were killed and over 780 were wounded, according to Palestinian sources. Officials said at least 15 civilians were among the dead.

110 Kassam rockets and mortar shells hit Israel on Saturday, the furthest of which landed 27 kilometers from its launcher inside Gaza. Rockest attacks were on a relative lull but the army said it was still expecting Hamas to recuperate from the initial shock and fire up to 200 rockets a day on Israel.

Other News:
- Kassam shrapnel kills Netivot man
- Egypt accused of 'deceiving' Hamas
- Two Palestinian girls killed in kassam misfire
- 8 Katyusha rockets defused in Lebanon

Posted in: Islamo Fascism,Israel,Sderot