13 January 2009
Summary of IDF Operations Today
IDF forces– including infantry forces, tanks, combat engineers, artillery forices, and intelligence forces– continue to operate throughout the Gaza Strip with the assistance of the Israel Air Force and the Israel Navy.
A total of 18 rockets and mortar shells were fired into Israel today; no injuries were reported.
Four fuel containers and 102 trucks transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza passed through the Kerem Shalom crossing today, bringing the total of humanitarian aid trucks allowed into the Gaza Strip since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead to 1,028.
The IAF attacked over 100 targets since the early morning hours, including:
-55 weaponry smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip
-20 rocket launching sites
-22 cells of armed gunmen, some of which were targeted in coordination with ground forces
Troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip encountered several gunmen armed with anti-tank missiles and light weapons. The troops directed the IAF in targeting the gunmen, who were hit successfully.
Working with infantry troops in northern Gaza, combat engineering forces carried out the controlled detonation of a tunnel that led to Israeli territory, in the vicinity of the Nahal Oz terminal. The tunnel, uncovered on Monday in a joint IDF and ISA operation, was apparently intended to be used to kidnap Israeli citizens or soldiers.
