Gaza Terrorists Digging Tunnels to Infiltrate Israel
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Aug 19 '10, Elul 9, 5770
One of the tunnels destroyed in the Israeli Air Force strike over the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night was an underground tunnel starting in the center of the strip and ending opposite Israel's Kibbbutz Be'eri that faces northern Gaza. It was intended for use as a means for terrorists to infiltrate Israel, an army source told the INN Hebrew site, Arutz Sheva.
The source reported that this is concrete proof that terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip are engaged non stop in plans to attack or kidnap Israeli soldiers and civilians or to perpetrate suicide attacks. They noted that Gilad Shalit was kidnapped when terrorists emerged from a tunnel they had dug near the Kerem Shalom crossing and attacked his tank, killing two of its crew and overpowering him.
Two tunnels bringing weaponry from Egypt to Gaza near Kerem Shalom were also destroyed in the IAF raid, as well as an arms manufacturing installation in the central part of the strip, located opposite Kibbutz Kissufim
The IAF used F-161, nicknamed"Sufa" (Storm), fighter planes in the raids on Gaza. Exactly a year ago, on August 3, 2009, the F-161 were also used in attacking tunnels. The "Sufa" fighter planes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin but equipped according to IAF specifications with Israeli developed advanced systems such as Israel Aircraft Industries' enlarged fuel tanks (CFT), helmet mounted information displaying goggles and advanced warfare and communications systems, also played a significant role in the Cast Lead Operation launched in December 2008 in response to rocket launching from Gaza.
(translation: R. Sylvetsky)
IAF Strikes Gaza Weapons Factory, Tunnels in Response to Terror
by Chana Ya'ar
August 18, 2010, Elul 8, 5770
Israel Air Force fighter pilots destroyed a variety of carefully selected terrorist targets in Gaza overnight in retaliation for a spate of terror attacks on Jewish communities in the western Negev, including two mortars fired at Israel from the region earlier in the day, and two Kassam rockets fired Monday.
Two IDF soldiers were wounded in Tuesday morning's mortar fire while troops carried out engineering tasks along the Gaza security fence. The Salah ad-Din Brigades military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) terrorist group subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack.
The PRC is one of three groups whose operatives carried out the June 25, 2006 kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held captive by the ruling Hamas terrorist organization.
In response to the attack, the IAF carried out air strikes on a weapons factory in central Gaza, two smuggler tunnels, and a terrorist tunnel in the southern part of the region.
On Monday, Gaza terrorists launched a Kassam rocket barrage that struck Jewish communities in the Eshkol Regional Council district.
“The IDF remains committed to protecting the citizens of Israel and will continue to act against terror,” said the IDF Spokesman in a statement. “The IDF holds Hamas solely responsible for terror emanating from the Gaza Strip.”
More than 115 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel from Gaza since January. Over 420 rockets were launched from the region at the Jewish State since the end of Israel's three-week counter-terrorist war, in the winter of 2008-2009, Operation Cast Lead.
IDF stops Iranian rocket-smuggling
by Hillel Fendell
8 July 2010
Iran has been trying to smuggle rockets into Judea and Samaria, but cannot overcome the IDF's preventive actions. The IDF enjoys no such freedom of movement in Gaza, where similar rockets have successfully been smuggled in.
Iran is interested, according to IDF evaluations, in stirring up the same type of violence against Israel from Judea/Samaria as exists in Gaza. Elements connected with Lebanon-based Hizbullah are also involved, the IDF feels.
Jordan's border with Israel, including the Jordan Valley adjacent to Judea and Samaria as well as the Aravah, runs 300 kilometers – as opposed to a 14-kilometer-long border between Gaza and Egypt. "Despite this," a senior IDF source told correspondent Haggai Huberman, "the IDF is able to stop such attempts on the Jordan border, but not on the Egyptian border, except for rare cases."
The IDF success is attributed to its freedom of movement in Judea and Samaria, which it would lose if the area is handed over to Palestinian Authority control.
In other rocket news:
The Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabiye editorialized on Friday that in the next war, Hizbullah would fire rockets not only to Israel's north and Galilee, but also towards Tel Aviv and even Eilat… Tensions between Jordan and Hamas are high, and Hamas diplomatic desk chief Khaleh Mashal sent a letter to Jordan promising that his organization had nothing to do with the rockets fired at Eilat and Aqaba, Jordan last
week, which killed one Jordanian…
(IsraelNationalNews.com)
Smokkeltunnels tussen Gaza, Egypte en Israel (Nederlands bericht)
Hamas sluit smokkeltunnels Rafah
(Novum/AP) - De leiders van Hamas hebben dinsdagavond opdracht gegeven de smokkeltunnels in de Gazastrook bij de grens met Egypte te sluiten. Een zegsman bij Hamas heeft dit bevestigd.
Hamas beheerste lange tijd de activiteiten in de smokkeltunnels en het is niet duidelijk waarom de militante islamitische beweging plotseling opdracht tot sluiting heeft gegeven, met name gezien het belang van de tunnels voor de economie in het gebied. Anderhalf miljoen Palestijnen in het verarmde gebied verliezen hierdoor belangrijke inkomsten. Israel en Egypte hebben een blokkade in Gaza opgeworpen sinds Hamas bijna drie jaar geleden de macht kwam en de tunnels in het gebied rond Rafah zijn de enige toegangsweg voor veel basisgoederen, evenals voor wapens.
Het is ook nog onduidelijk of de sluiting te maken heeft met de waarschuwing die Israel dinsdag uitstuurde aan Israeliers die zich op het Egyptische schiereiland Sinaï bevinden. Volgens Israel was er 'concreet bewijs dat een poging van terroristen Israeliers in Sinaï te ontvoeren aanstaande is'. Woensdagmiddag waren de meeste Israeliers weer teruggekeerd naar het schiereiland.
Beeldmateriaal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bON0eMJDc9c
Lees ook Photo Evidence of ‘Myth of Siege of Gaza’
Hamas Denies Order to Shut Down Smuggler Tunnels
by Hana Levi Julian
The ruling Hamas terrorist organization reportedly ordered operators on Wednesday to shut down the hundreds of smuggler tunnels that honeycomb the borders between Gaza and Egypt, according to foreign media. However, spokesmen for the terrorist group later denied the report as a rumor.
Hamas explained that it simply has agreed to increase supervision over traffic in the tunnels due to the urgent warning issued Tuesday by the Israeli government regarding a terror cell operating in the Sinai Peninsula. The alert ordered citizens vacationing in the area to immediately return to Israel, citing concrete intelligence that Arab terrorists were hoping to kidnap or murder Israelis in the area.
It added that the tunnel smuggling system is operating as usual. A variety of products are smuggled in to the Gaza region, home to some 1.5 million Palestinian Authority Arab residents.
Weapons and terrorists are also smuggled in through the tunnels, as was kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit after Hamas terrorists carried out a cross-border attack at his base near the Kerem Shalom crossing in June 2006. Shalit, whose whereabouts and condition remain unknown, is still believed to be alive and in Gaza..
A recent report focused on the importance of the tunnel industry to the local economy; entire new cars have been “imported” through the underground system, which has been expanded to resemble a somewhat primitive mini-subway system.
However, Egypt has been taking steps to block the activity with construction of a steel barrier being sunk deep beneath the ground at the border with Gaza.
Egypt also announced Wednesday that the Rafiah crossing would be closed to travelers indefinitely, for an “indefinite period of time.” The PA-linked Ma'an news agency reported that the crossing usually is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays for passage by Gaza medical patients for treatment in Egypt. Officials gave no explanation for the decision.
Voor meer aanvullende informatie hierover, verwijs ik naar een collega-schrijver over Israel, die al langer actief is dan ik.
http://brabosh.com/2009/04/25/palestijn-sterft-in-smokkeltunnel-tussen-egypte-en-gaza/