GAZA CITY — Israel's military has entered the Gaza Strip for the
first time since its withdrawal in September 2005.
The military said Israeli troops, backed by main battle tanks, entered
the Palestinian Authority east of the border terminal at Kissufim on
Thursday in response to an alert of an insurgency attack. This was the first
time Israel's military entered the Gaza Strip without PA coordination since
the 2005 pullout.
The Israeli entry came in wake of a battle near the terminal in which
two Palestinian insurgents were killed. The insurgents were found with
weapons, communications system and supplies that suggested plans to launch
an attack within Israel.
Palestinian sources said the Israeli military entered 500 meters within
the eastern Gaza Strip. The Israeli force did not meet any Palestinian
resistance.
The Israeli military said the Palestinian force entered 50 meters in PA
territory. Israel and the PA have disputed the boundaries of the Gaza Strip.
In March, PA officials reported Israeli incursions into the Gaza Strip
by special operations forces who searched for Palestinian missile gunners.
Israel did not confirm the reports.
On Friday, Israeli artillery fired toward suspected Palestinian missile
launch sites in the northern Gaza Strip. Earlier, Palestinian gunners fired
two Kassam-class, short-range missiles toward Israel, both of which were
said to have fell in PA territory.
"If Hamas leaders don't act to stop the rockets, they must be hit hard
and pay a heavy price," Brig. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, head of operations at
General Staff Headquarters, told the Israeli daily Haaretz on Friday. "What
we saw up to now was just an introduction."