FALCON POWERS – Residents and officials said the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement fired a barrage of rockets at Israel on Monday in a clear show of force, as Israeli tanks continued to make incursions into the Gaza Strip amid fierce fighting.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said its fighters had fired rockets toward several Israeli settlements near the Gaza border fence in retaliation for “the Zionist enemy’s crimes against our Palestinian people.” The Israeli military said around 20 rockets were fired but there were no casualties, though the launch shows the fighters still have rocket capabilities despite nearly nine months of an Israeli offensive it says is aimed at neutralizing threats.
The fighters continue to carry out attacks targeting Israeli forces in areas of the Strip from which the army had withdrawn months ago.
Residents said Israeli tanks pushed deeper into the Shujaiyya neighborhood east of Gaza City for the fifth consecutive day, while tanks also advanced in the west and center of Rafah city in the southern part of the Strip, on the border with Egypt.
The Israeli army said it killed several militants in clashes in Shujaiyya on Monday and found large quantities of weapons there.
Meanwhile, Hamas said its fighters managed to lure an Israeli force into a booby-trapped house east of Rafah city, and as the soldiers entered the house, it was detonated, resulting in casualties among the forces.
In Rafah as well, the Israeli army said an airstrike killed a militant who had fired an anti-tank missile at its forces.
