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On Feb. 17, a member of the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit was
injured in a battle with Palestinian fighters in the southern Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported.
The unit killed at least three of the fighters and detained more than 80
Palestinians.
The sources said the military has been employing its General Staff
Reconnaissance Unit as well as and navy commandos in Gaza. The
reconnaissance unit has been deemed the best-trained force in the military
and used for intelligence-gathering as well as commando operations.
"Israel Defense Forces ground forces and IDF special forces with the
assistance of the Israel Air Force operated overnight and this morning
against the terror infrastructure in southern Gaza," the military said in a
statement on Feb. 17. "During the operation, Palestinian gunmen opened fire
at the soldiers using anti-tank missiles and small-arms. In the ensuing
exchanges of fire, an IDF soldier from an elite unit was seriously wounded."
The special operations unit has also sought to test the response of
Hamas units to Israeli penetration of urban areas of the Gaza Strip. The
sources said Hamas and its allies have developed a makeshift command and
control system for rapid response to enemy infiltration.
At the same time, Israel has been lobbying Western and other allies for
an offensive meant to capture the Gaza Strip and destroy the Hamas regime.
On Thursday, the London-based Al Hayat daily reported that Israeli Defense
Minister Ehud Barak discussed the operation with Turkey and relayed a
message to Syria not to intervene.
Barak was also said to have proposed that Jordan, Qatar and Turkey send
peace-keeping forces after the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Qatar and
Turkey have been participating in the United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon.
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