In Continued Escalation, Gazans Shell Israel after Deadly IDF Raid

by Amos Harel
Haaretz
November 14, 2008

http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/399/in-continued-escalation-gazans-shell-israel-after

Palestinian militants fired Qassam rockets and mortar shells at Israel for the ninth consecutive day Thursday with at least five Qassam rockets and six mortar shells landing in open fields surrounding the Gaza Strip in the morning. Three more rockets fell in open areas near Sderot last night. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces decided to delay the departure of its outgoing Gaza Division commander, Brigadier General Moshe Tamir, who was slated to be replaced by Brigadier General Eyal Eisenberg on Thursday, because of the escalation in violence.

"The decision [to keep Tamir in his position] was made due to tensions in the region over the last few days," an IDF spokesman said in response.

Most of the rockets and mortar shells were fired by Palestinians in the early morning hours of yesterday morning. One rocket landed in Ashkelon Thursday afternoon.

The IDF refrained from responding to the fire or launching incursions into the Gaza Strip. Military sources said yesterday that Israel wants to reach a calm with the Palestinians, and that if Qassam rocket and mortar shell fire from the Gaza Strip ends then the cease-fire with the Palestinians can be renewed.

At the same time, the GOC Southern Command's Gaza Brigade increased the level of their alertness after intelligence services received information that Gazan militants would try to carry out a large-scale attack against Israeli troops, such as an attempted kidnapping of an Israeli soldier. Intelligence reports prompted Israeli authorities to reverse their decision to allow a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The convoy would have been the first to have been allowed into Gaza since violence erupted on November 4th.

Israel Defense Forces also canceled all weekend leaves for its soldiers surrounding the Gaza Strip and relocated female soldiers stationed in frontline positions to bases further away from the border as a precaution.

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