---------------IAF strikes Gaza as Hamas announces immediate cease-fire
04/07/2011 23:21
Iron Dome works in combat, intercepts Katyusha rocket
Friday, 8 April 2011
Hamas says fire into Israel halted at 11 p.m.; IAF hits total of 12 targets; Palestinians report 5 killed; terror group claims responsibility for firing anti-tank missile at childrens' school bus.
The Israel Air Force struck three smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip late Thursday night after Hamas announced an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip in an effort to reign in growing escalations.
After consulting with various other Palestinian terrorist factions in Gaza and other international Arab officials, Hamas said that the cease-fire went into effect at 11 p.m. Thursday.
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Hamas reportedly ordered all armed factions in Gaza to halt fire into Israel.
Earlier Thursday, the Hamas military wing, the Izzadin Kassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for firing a Kornet anti-tank missile at a children's schoolbus near Kibbutz Sa'ad in the Sha'ar Hanegev regional council, which left a 16-year-old in critical condition and the driver in light condition.
The attack was "the first response to the continuing crimes of the occupation," a Hamas statement said.
In response to the attack, the IDF spokesperson said that the air force had struck nine targets in the Gaza Strip and that artillery forces had struck the area from where the anti-tank missile was fired.
Five Palestinians were killed and 33 injured in the strikes, Palestinian medical sources reported.
Speaking at the IDF's Southern Command earlier Thursday night, Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke about the school bus attack and called it a "very serious event that hit deep into Israeli territory from deep within the Gaza Strip. That is something that we cannot accept," he added.
Commenting on IDF, IAF and artillery strikes on Gaza, the defense minister said: "The actions being taken right now are a response to [the attack] and they will continue as long as necessary in order to make clear that things like this cannot continue."
The responses by the IDF are both purposeful and effective, Barak said, adding that, "We see Hamas as responsible for everything originating in Gaza, and we expect that Hamas will understand what is allowed, and of course, what is forbidden."
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By YAAKOV KATZ
The Jerusalem Post - 04/07/2011 19:58
Photo by: REUTERS
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History was made on Thursday when the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system intercepted a Grad-model Katyusha rocket fired from the Gaza Stripon Thursday, proving its capabilities for the first time in combat.
IDF sources said that the rocket was detected shortly after it was launched in the direction of Ashkelon, south of which a battery was deployed on Monday. Two Tamir interceptors were fired at the Katyusha and the first intercepted it, a senior Israeli Air Force officer said.
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“This is a historic achievement and the first time that a short-range rocket was shot down in this way in the world,” one defense official said.
The first Iron Dome battery was deployed outside of Beersheba in late March after Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 100 rockets and mortar shells into Israel in under a week. The IAF said that it planned to keep the Iron Dome in its current positions but would move the batteries to other cities within the range of Palestinian rocket fire over the coming weeks.
Israel plans to increase the number of operational batteries to six in the coming years, with the arrival of $205 million the Obama administration has pledged it will provide Israel to purchase additional rocket defense systems. The Defense Ministry recently completed negotiations with Iron Dome manufacturer Rafael about the upcoming deal.
Sources in the Air Force said that the Iron Dome was still undergoing an operational evaluation but would continue to be activated in the event of continued attacks from the Gaza Strip.
Former defense minister and Labor Party MK Amir Peretz who made the decision to develop the Iron Dome, hailed the success and said that it was the result of “well-trained young soldiers who were prepared for their mission.”
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