On Tuesday, Jihad ordered fighters to shut off their cellular phones as
well as remove their batteries. The fighters were also told not to travel in
cars and move underground.
Palestinian sources said Israel's military has been tracking Palestinian
insurgency commanders through their cell phones. They said Palestinian
informants provided Israeli intelligence with cell numbers as well as the
whereabouts of the commanders.
Over one day, 13 Jihad operatives were killed in the Gaza Strip and
West Bank. They included Majed Harazin, identified as the Jihad military
commander of both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"Harazin commanded a number of terrorist cells responsible for firing
Kassam rockets into Israel, and he himself had fired countless rockets into
Israel," an Israeli military statement said.
Another leading Jihad operative killed in the Israeli air strikes was
identified as Karim Dahdouh. Dahdouh was said to have been Jihad's missile
designer.
Israel also operated against Jihad in the West Bank. An Israeli commando
unit killed Tarek Abu Raali, Jihad's commander in Jenin, in a battle in
Kabatya on Tuesday.
Palestinian gunners have responded with missile and mortar fire. On
overnight Wednesday, six Israeli soldiers were injured by a mortar fired
from the northern Gaza Strip into a nearby Israeli military base.
