Dozens of rockets, mortar shells explode near Gaza, southern Israel

Haaretz ^ | 8/5/12 | Gili Cohen , Yanir Yagna, Avi Issacharoff and Reuters |

[Nachum]

Dozens of rockets and mortar shells exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel on Sunday evening.

Residents of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, near the meeting point of the Egypt-Israel-Gaza borders, were told to stay in their homes, for reasons of safety.

Palestinians sources in Gaza reported exchanges of fire in the area of Kerem Shalom, including shells fired from the Israeli side, and according to the report, Palestinians have been wounded. Israeli tanks reportedly fired at least 15 shells in the area near Kerem Shalom. Egyptian state television also reported that an Islamist militant group was behind the attack.

Palestinian sources reported that a group of global Jihadi operatives penetrated the Egyptian army outpost near Kerem Shalom, killing at least 11 soldiers, and kidnapped a number of other soldiers. Egyptian military sources told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency that the terror attck was carried against a central army position near the Kerem Hashalom crossing, which is known by the soldiers as Tahrir Square.

At the time of the attack, 20 soldiers were in position. According to the report, the masked attackers, who were driving all-terrain vehicles with heavy machine guns, fired RPGs at the military outpost and killed between 11 and 15 soldiers. Afterward, they kidnapped the remaining soldiers and left the place in an armored Egyptian vehicle. This is the most severe attack of Global Jihad on the Egyptian army.

[Nachum]

Full title: Dozens of rockets, mortar shells explode near Gaza, southern Israel

Residents of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom told to stay in their homes; Palestinians report exchanges of fire between Israel, Palestinians; Gaza sources report at least 11 policemen killed in attack on police station in Sinai near Egypt-Israel border.

[BlackVeil]

These Sinai militants are well armed - heavy machine guns - and with the vehicles as well.

A very severe problem for Egypt. The Egyptian media has said that the militants came from the Gaza side, but others state they are from Sinai, which does seem more likely.

[Kickass Conservative]

Send Bill O’Really over there so he can confiscate those “heavy” weapons.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Nachum.

[SJackson]

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