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Israeli warplanes bombed a Hamas security outpost and tunnels by the Gaza border with Egypt on Tuesday, after a rocket fired from the coastal territory struck an Israeli town, Israeli and Hamas sources said. Palestinian medics said a woman in Gaza suffered moderate wounds from one of several air strikes against tunnels Israel says are used to smuggle weapons into the coastal territory. Another raid targeted a Hamas outpost near a border fence with Israel, a Hamas source said. It was the first time Israel has attacked the Islamic militant group since a January 18 ceasefire went into effect after...

Published: 03.23.09, 11:54 / Israel News Egyptian police seized a flock of 560 sheep set to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip through underground tunnels. SNIPPET: "A security official says the flock was discovered on Sunday night, along with the entrances to six tunnels in the Salah el-Din district north of the Rafah border crossing. Police seized five tons of cement and found a half ton cache of TNT hidden in near the border."

Yesterday marked the 6th anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie--a young American member of the International Solidarity Movement. Today, another ISMer, Berkeley tree-hugger, Tristan Anderson, is being treated in Tel Hashomer Hospital after sustaining life-threatening injuries while he too was in a closed military zarea protesting Israel's attempts at fighting terrorists. What would have happened if Corrie would have been taken to an Israeli hospital instead of the Arab hospital where they let her die??

SNIPPET: "Rocket range extended: Palestinian gunmen respond to IDF operation in Gaza by firing three rockets beyond Ashkelon area, some 40 km away from Strip. Building in moshav near Ashdod; air raid siren sounds in Yavne area" ARTICLE SNIPPET: "After a day which saw dozens of Qassam rockets fired at Israel, Palestinian gunmen resumed the fire on Sunday morning. Three rockets, believed to be Grad missiles, were fired from the Gaza Strip and landed east of the city of Ashdod. One of the rockets caused damage to the windows of a house in a moshav near Ashdod. Explosions were also...

Afghanistan to Ask NATO for Bigger Army Afghan officials will go to the NATO summit in Romania Thursday with a request: pay to increase our national Army by 40 percent. A bigger Army, Afghan officials argue, will allow the US and other coalition members to scale back in the coming years. This appeal comes amid pleas from the US and Canada for other NATO members to commit more to the Afghanistan mission, which many analysts say has floundered over the past year for lack of resources and a coherent strategy. France is expected to contribute another 1,000 forces and...

Un-credible BBC's source is a (terrorists') Hamas blogger   The outrageous BBC excited adhering to a Hamas-nick blogger and pondering responsible Israel's foreign ministry   Though the BBC's Arabist reporting is old news, once in a while they have to hear that ordinary people don't buy their "objective" journalism.   January 23, 2008 [11:30 AM GMT] the anchor ["world updates"] first interviews in an exciting (almost childish like)  tone a Rafah blogger (wow! What a source) that "whines" about "Palestinians" that -- supposedly -- are rushing out to buy "food", and that they are just trying to break the "siege" as...

via translation - Gaza: hundreds of Palestinians into Egyptian territory GAZA - Hundreds of residents of the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning entered into Egyptian territory after a series of explosive devices have opened holes in the wall separating the Palestinian territories from Egypt, witnesses said. The Egyptian security forces along the border had not yet taken place, according to witnesses. This massive influx occurred in the aftermath of a demonstration organized by Hamas at the point of entry into Egypt from Rafah to protest against the blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel. A few hours after the event,...

A SATANIC CULT CALLED 'PALESTINIANS' A population rotten to the core Among their notorious diseases: The Sick Twisted Arab Muslim 'Palestinians' dancing to pain & suffering of the innocent [be it on victims of their own murderous actions & crimes against humanity or whether in the hands of other Islamofascists], but weeping to loss of bloodthisty butchers. Evil has emotions... just not on the moral/right side. ________ Terror in the USA - The Palestinians Celebrate! ... went dancing in the streets, giving out sweets, and shooting in the air, to show how happy they were. ... http://www.gamla.org.il/english/feature/cel.htm Palestinians Party...

A crush of 5,000 Palestinians trying to get through the newly opened Rafah border crossing from the Gaza Strip into Egypt Thursday left an elderly man dead and seven people wounded, Palestinian medics said. The Palestinians came to the crossing, which is rarely open, Thursday morning hoping to cross into Egypt. But the crowd quickly became chaotic, the medics said, and an elderly man on his way to a medical checkup in Egypt died in the crush of people. The exact circumstances of his death were unclear. Abdel Hadi Salama, who was traveling to Egypt to visit relatives, said the...

Thousands of Hamas supporters gather at Rafah crossing, European monitors meant to approve Palestinian prime minister’s passage into Strip refuse arrive at crossing for fear of attack; exchanges of fire erupt between Hamas gunmen, Fatah security officers Ali Waked Published: 12.14.06, 21:36 Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's passage from Egypt into Gaza is being delayed further Thursday evening due to the fact that European monitors, who are supposed to approve his entry into the Strip, are refusing to make their way to the Rafah crossing for fear that the thousands of Hamas supporters who had gathered there would attack them....

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 7/20/06 - Beirut, Lebanon, Aukar, Burj Barajneh, Dahyieh Junibiya, Ghazie, Nabi Sheet, Bekaa Valley, Soer, Zahle, Kiryat Shmona, Rosh Hanikra, Shlomi, Avivim, Safed, Haifa, Nahariya, Nazareth, Rafah, Gaza City Israeli Response to Hamas and Hizb'allah terror using Iranian and Syrian technology BREAKING: Beirut, Lebanon - US Marines bring grateful and happy evacuees out BREAKING: Aukar - U.S. embassy security position at the former U.S. Embassy which was bombed in the '80s BREAKING: Burj Barajneh southern suburb - precision Israeli retaliation BREAKING: Beirut - Hizb'allah-stronghold taken out BREAKING: Dahyieh Junibiya - precision Israeli...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 7/16/06 -Mar Mikhail, Safed, Balata, Dahyieh Junubiya, Rafik Hariri Airport, Gaza, Ghoubayri, Hazor, Jiyeh, Kiryat Shmona, Carmiel, Beirut, Jdaydet Yabous, Necore, Rafah, Saida, Sidon, Taanayel, Biddawi terrorist camp, Haifa, Meron, Adousiyeh, Asmiyeh, Tripoli, Tyre, Zahrani BREAKING: Haifa - target of Lebanese and Hizb'Allah terrorism BREAKING: Meron - target of Lebanese and Hizb'Allah terrorism BREAKING: Safed - target of Lebanese and Hizb'Allah terrorism BREAKING: Mar Mikhail - Israel shows restraint BREAKING: Balata - terrorists' training camp BREAKING: Dahyieh Junubiya - Hizb'Allah stronghold BREAKING: Rafik Hariri International Airport - Israel shows restraint BREAKING: Gaza...

Four Palestinians have died in recent days awaiting entry into the Gaza Strip on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, which has been closed for nearly two weeks since the kidnapping of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. More than 3,000 Palestinians, including 578 deemed "urgent humanitarian cases," have been stranded for 16 days inside a make-shift terminal on the Egyptian side of the crossing, the Red Cross said Monday. Two Palestinians died at the crossing on Tuesday - a 19-year-old woman and a 1.5-year-old infant.

Israel turned up the pressure on Palestinian militants to release a captive soldier Wednesday, sending its warplanes to bomb a Hamas training camp after knocking out electricity and water supplies for most of the 1.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-led Palestinian government called for a prisoner swap with Israel, saying the Gaza offensive would not secure the soldier's release. Hamas-affiliated militants holding the hostage previously made that demand, but this was the first time the government did. Tensions escalated Wednesday evening as the military fired artillery near Gaza City - the first time Israel has targeted that...

Plast-inian, the PLASTIC language of the Arab Muslim 'Palestinians' - PLASTINIAN - Whether the (so called) 'Palestinian' Arab Muslims are a "nation" that is 39 years old (since 1967) or a bit more than that or even if you believe that they are just another group of Arabs, one thing is certain, they have contributed some vocabulary, Take some PLASTINIAN lessons: Hamas' terrorists greed for higher salaries (2006) = "starving Palestinians". Killing it's own people (like Muhammad Al Dura 2000, Rafah 2002 in a cave & now Gaza beach 2006) = "israeli aggression". Arab settlers (at the 1800's and their...

Fearing for their safety: European monitors at the Rafah crossing left their posts Tuesday afternoon, Palestinian sources reported. The Europeans apparently decided to leave the crossing after being instructed to do so in light of fears for their safety, after more than a dozen foreign nationals were abducted in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in protest of the IDF's Jericho operation Tuesday. Israeli security officials are closely monitoring the situation, as Rafah constitutes the major crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, with developments in the area possibly affecting Israel. At this time, the army is not preparing to...

Palestinian police angry over growing lawlessness in the Gaza Strip stormed the Gaza-Egypt border crossing Friday, shutting down the border and forcing European monitors to flee, Palestinian and European officials said. About 100 policemen entered the Rafah compound and took up positions alongside border patrol officers at the customs section of the crossing, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said. The European observers — responsible for monitoring the crossing and ensuring the terms of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement are upheld — fled the area, fearing the situation was getting out of control, the officials said.

JERUSALEM - Palestinians have allowed up to 15 militants wanted by Israel to return to the Gaza Strip in recent days, officials said Friday, in what Israel said was a violation of U.S.-brokered deal for securing the border. The dispute over the entry of the Hamas militants — including one of the group's founders — through the Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border threatened to undermine the biggest diplomatic breakthrough since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. Palestinian security officials acknowledged that wanted men entered Gaza through Rafah, but said anyone with a Palestinian identity card can come into the coastal strip....

Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, and last week permitted Palestinians to pass between Egypt and Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. The agreement to open this border point was hailed as a positive step for Palestinians -- but who cares about the consequences for Israel? It looks like Rafah will become another security loophole for Palestinian terrorists (Jerusalem Post): Rafik al-Hasanat, a senior member of Hamas who has been wanted by Israel for more than a decade, on Wednesday night returned to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing. ... A senior member of the armed wing of Hamas,...

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas officially opened the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt Friday, enabling Palestinians to cross to and from a neighboring country away - for the first time - from the gaze of IDF soldiers. "Today is a great day, it is a day of happiness. It is a day of happiness because it means an enormous step forward for the freedom of the Palestinian people, freedom to move, to come and go, to visit ones family, to have medical care, to study abroad," European Union envoy Marc Otte said. "It's as important as bread and water....

The Rafah Agreement is against the law, common sense and prudence by Ted Belman Every since the Roadmap was introduced, I railed against the stipulations that Palestine be created and that it be viable and contiguous. These should be matters for negotiation. More recently I admonished Israel to Reject the Link arguing only that she wasn’t obligated to provide it. Now that Israel has accepted the Rafah Agreement the land link appears more ominous. David Hornik in his article Folly in Gaza:The Sequal, reports, “Since the disengagement, 35 Gazan export trucks have gone through it daily. Under the agreement, this...

EU ready to monitor Gaza-Egypt border, but Israel may not watch By Israel Insider staff and partners November 8, 2005 The EU has agreed to monitor the Gaza-Egypt Rafah border crossing and train Palestinian police forces. The decision, concluded Monday in a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, follows Israeli and Palestinian requests for EU presence at the Rafah crossing. Javier Solana, the EU's security affairs chief, said that the missions would represent the "most important security presence in the Middle East ever undertaken by the European Union" as part of the Mideast peace process. EU foreign ministers agreed to "assume the...

Mofaz meets with Mubarak in Cairo, agrees to opening Rafah with third party By Israel Insider staff and partners October 27, 2005 Israel's defense minister said Wednesday that agreement has been reached to let a third party join Egypt and the Palestinians monitor Gaza Strip crossing points. Shaul Mofaz, who held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a Cairo palace, said talks were ongoing over who the third party would be, although Egypt and the Palestinians have expressed support for a European presence. "It has been initially agreed for a third party to be present on the Rafah crossing...

Oct. 25, 2005 20:43 Mofaz off to Cairo to meet Mubarak By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz flies to Cairo Wednesday for a one-day meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss border crossing arrangements with the Gaza Strip. The sudden invitation to Cairo came following Mubarak's meeting on Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who stopped in Egypt to brief Mubarak on his talks with US President Bush in Washington last week. It also comes amid criticism by a top Mideast envoy for dragging its feet over opening the Gaza border. Mofaz's visit will also include a meeting...

Contents IntroductionWhat is the PSM/ISM?ISM Rewriting History ACT NOW! - OPPOSE GOOGLE'S PLAN Automatically send emails opposing Google's planSign a petition Introduction According to Lee Kaplan, writing for FrontPageMagazine.com: The Internet giant Google will give news agency status to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), according to an anonymous source at Google. If true, the ISM—an affiliate of the anarchist/communist wing of the PLO—would be on par with professional news services such as CNN, Fox, and Associated Press. … The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the Palestinian Solidarity Movement (PSM) are related and interconnected organizations that have one goal: the...

Dec. 16, 2004 23:53 IAF hits target in south Gaza By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH An IAF helicopter fired a missile at a building in the Tel Sultan neighborhood in Rafah. IDF said the building belongs to Hamas and was used to store mortar shells. Dec. 16, 2004 21:37 | Updated Dec. 17, 2004 0:02 11 soldiers wounded in mortar attack By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH Eleven soldiers of the Givati Brigade were lightly wounded when a salvo of three mortar shells exploded next to the Narkiss outpost near Atzmona in Gush Katif on Thursday evening. As soldiers returned fire, the wounded were evacuated...

IAF targeted assassination attempt in Rafah fails Gunship fires missile at car in southern Gaza. Target of attack was Jamal Abu Samahdna, commander of the Popular Resistance Committees. He was moderately injured. Two of his bodyguards sustained light wounds.Amir Buhbut Apache in action (archive photo). An IAF helicopter gunship fired a missile this (Thursday) afternoon at a car in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, wounding three Palestinian terrorists. The target of the assassination was Jamal Abu Samahdna, one of the two Gaza commanders of the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group of militant factions, according to the group....

The day the tanks arrived at Rafah zoo Among ruined houses, a haven for Gaza's children lies in rubble Chris McGreal in al-Brazil, Rafah Saturday May 22, 2004 The Guardian Ask to be directed to the latest wave of Israeli destruction in Rafah's al-Brazil neighbourhood and many fingers point towards the zoo. Amid the rubble of dozens of homes that the Israeli army continued yesterday to deny demolishing, the wrecking of the tiny, but only, zoo in the Gaza Strip took on potent symbolism for many of the newly homeless. The butchered ostrich, the petrified kangaroo cowering in a basement...

How about some facts Posted: Thursday, May 20, 2004 - written by jerry golden Intelligence and I might add very good intelligence that weapons brought in from Iran and Saudi Arabia by Hizbullah are sitting near the Israeli Egyptian border ready to be brought in by tunnels into Rafah. Some of them still in a tunnel that goes under the Suez Canal near a town called El-Arish where they were unloaded from a ship. These weapons were to escalate the battle between the Terrorists groups controlled by Yasser Arafat to make it appear that the IDF was ran out...

Translation by me: The US will abstain in the upcoming UN Security Council vote crticizing Israel for destroying houses in Rafah, and it will pass with a majority of 14 countries; the decision is complex and criticizes both sides.

Translation by me: 19 Armed Arabs have been killed so fair in "Operation Rainbow," IDF sources reported today. The sources declare that most of the killed are terrorists that dealt with weapons smuggling through the tunnels. The IDF says that as of now it is known that seven Arabs were killed in Rafah this afternoon. The IDF dismisses the Arab report of 10 deaths, saying that it includes 3 names of people killed in a previous operation.

Israel regrets harming Palestinian civilians but the Rafah operation will continue Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Wednesday night after Palestinian protestors were killed in Rafah Wednesday afternoon. The Chief of Staff, Moshe Yaalon said that no soldier was given the command to target civilians. At a joint press conference at the Sufah checkpoint in the Gaza Strip, the two justified the Rafah operation. “The operation is essential and will continue”, Mofaz said. “It is too early to go in to the details of the incident. In such complex and complicated fighting, incidents like these happen sometimes and no other army...

EU slams Rafah attack as `completely disproportionate,` says action shows `reckless disregard for human life` (Reuters)

The army has received information in recent days regarding a shipment of Strella shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, Sagger anti-tank missiles, and other long-range rockets that are waiting on the Egyptian side of the border to be smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip, a senior IDF officer said on Tuesday. As the IDF launched Operation Rainbow against the terrorist network in Rafah, current assessments show that at least three or four tunnels are still operating in the area, the officer said. The weapons are brought to the area by boats anchored at El-Arish, tunnels dug underneath the Suez Canal, and from...

Breathless, the gunman dashed up the hill, blood smeared on his face. Five bullets from an IDF sniper had whistled through Rafah's Tel e-Sultan neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, badly wounding two of his fellow gunmen as they took cover in a nearby house, but apparently missing him. Less than a minute passed before an ambulance screamed to the site, dumped the wounded aboard, and sped away. Dozens of children and teenage boys, curious bystanders and supporters of the resistance against Israel, pointed the way to ambulance drivers. The Gaza Strip's southernmost city of Rafah, the epicenter of the fiercest fighting between...

Israel learned lessons from its military campaign in Jenin in 2002 and decided to embed a handful of Israeli and foreign reporters with the IDF to cover the current fighting in Rafah. One of the mistakes made in Jenin, said Gideon Meir, the Foreign Ministry's deputy director-general for public affairs, was to keep reporters away. The result, he said, was that it seemed Israel was trying to hide its actions, when it wasn't. It also led to the publication of wild tales about large-scale massacres. Meir said he hopes the foreign press, which in many cases reported rumor as truth...

There is "no other force besides the IDF" that can prevent the Gaza Strip from being flooded with weaponry that threatens Israel, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon said Tuesday. Ya'alon, who was briefing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on operations in the southern Gaza Strip, said that ceding control of the Philadelphi Route would result in the Gaza Strip becoming "inundated with weaponry" that would pose difficulties for Israel in the future. Ya'alon said the IDF operation in Rafah, aimed at improving the military's ability to fight weapons smuggling, is still under way. The quality...

The Palestinian Authority Tuesday urged the international community to interfere with Israel to stop the "brutal massacre" in Rafah. "The Palestinian leadership calls on al the world countries, the US, the Quartet, the Arab brothers, the European Union and the UN Security Council to stop this big brutal massacre decided by the Israeli government," said a statement issued by PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's office. "The Israeli government's goal is to destroy Rafah and its refugee camps and to displace their residents," the statement charged. "So will the world remain silent in the face of this crime of genocide and displacement?"...

“We told the soldiers to kill as many terrorists as possible”, a senior IDF source told Maariv Tuesday evening regarding the IDFs operation in Rafah. The source related how over the past three months the IDF exposed vast quantities of weapons of the caliber previously unheard of in Gaza. “That’s why we were forced to conduct this operation that will only end when we have achieved our goals”, the source said. Palestinian sources report 20 killed and 36 wounded in the Rafah operation so far. According to the Palestinians three of the dead are children including a brother and sister....

Chief of staff Lt.-Gen Moshe Ya'alon told a press conference Tuesday, "we are in the midst of an operation in Rafah, which is aimed at improving our ability in fighting against weapons smuggling The aim of the operation is to uncover as many tunnels as possible." The weapons have been arriving at Sinai beaches, and from there they are transported to the Gaza Strip. "The operations are being financed almost entirely by Iran and organized via Damascus and Lebanon with the aid of the Hizbullah," Ya'alon continued. There has recently been an improvement in the quality of arms being smuggled...

Translation from reports by me (Hebrew to English): IDF begins large scale operation in southern Gaza strip. Goals are to eliminate terrorists by capturing or killing them, targetting weapons tunnels and other terrorist structures such as bomb labs. The IDF has began to enter Palestinian Authority terrorist controlled Rafiah (Walla! News Israeli portal). Infantry forces including Givati and Golani, with Engineering Corps, covered by IDF helicopters have began to move into the town. IDF troops have been reported to have taken up positions in various buildings as well. In the opening incidents of the operation, 5 terrorists were killed by...

U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice criticized Israel on Monday for its plan for mass demolition of Palestinian houses in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Rice, speaking in Berlin after a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, said the United States had told Israel "that some of their actions don't create the best atmosphere." "It's a subject of conversation and it's a subject of concern," Rice said. A senior Palestinian official told Reuters that Qureia appealed to Rice to stop Israel's mass demolition plan in Gaza's Rafah refugee camp, where thousands of Palestinians could be...

alestinian sources report large IDF forces in the southern Gaza Strip ahead of expected operations to widen the Philadelphia corridor. Meanwhile, some 3000 Palestinians fled their homes in Rafah on Sunday following the High Court of Justice's turning down of a petition filed by 13 Palestinian residents against the IDF's decision to demolish houses adjacent to the Phildelphia Route in Rafah, Ynet reported. Advertisement The IDF revealed plans Sunday to create a 60 meter wide underground canal, 20 meters deep that is aimed at preventing the forging of arms-smuggling tunnels from the Egyptian side of Rafah to the Palestinian side....

Palestinian sources report large IDF forces in the southern Gaza Strip ahead of expected operations to widen the Philadelphia corridor, after the High COurt rejected petitions by 13 Palestinian residents in Rafah against the destruction of houses in Palestinian Rafah, reported channel one news Sunday evening. The IDF revealed plans Sunday to create a 60 meter wide underground canal, 20 meters deep that is aimed at preventing the forging of arms-smuggling tunnels from the Egyptian side of Rafah to the Palestinian side. This is one option to widening the Philadelphia Corridor, reported Channel 2 news Sunday. The army is considering...

IDF tanks entered the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, near the border with Egypt, late Tuesday, residents said. IDF officers said a routine operation was underway to find arms-smuggling tunnels. Residents said the tanks moved about 60 meters into the camp, an area where buildings were destroyed in earlier operations. No clashes were reported, but Israeli soldiers were firing machine guns, they said. The Rafah camp has been a frequent center of clashes. IDF forces enter the camp to search for and tunnels used by Palestinians to smuggle weapons in from Egypt.

Dec. 23, 2003 Two hurt after Kassam falls in Gaza settlement By JPOST.COM STAFF Two Israelis were hurt Tuesday night after a Kassam rocket made a direct hit on a home in the Gaza Strip settlement of Nisanit. The condition of the wounded was still unclear. Meanwhile Tuesday, eight Palestinians were killed and 42 wounded during an IDF incursion into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip to find tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt to the Palestinians, Palestinian sources said. There were no injuries to IDF troops. On Monday, two IDF officers of the Givati Brigade were killed and...

Israeli Tanks Enter Rafah Refugee Camp Tuesday October 14, 2003 4:16 AM By IBRAHIM BARZAK Associated Press Writer GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Dozens of Israeli tanks entered the Rafah refugee camp before dawn Tuesday, just days after another incursion into the Gaza site left eight dead and hundreds homeless. On Monday, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat delivered yet another blow to his new premier, appointing an acting security chief over interim Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's opposition. Qureia, in office about a week, already has threatened to resign several times because of disputes with Arafat. The latest threat came Sunday,...

IDF In Pictures October 10, 2003 As part of IDF activity in the city of Rafah to uncover weapon smuggling tunnels, IDF forces exposed two tunnels used for weapons smuggling - which were dug under buildings in the area. Photos: Yonatan Na'aman, IDF Spokesperson's Unit IDF In Pictures October 11, 2003 As part of ongoing activity in Rafah (initiated October 9, 2003), IDF forces uncovered three weapon smuggling tunnels dug under buildings in the areaa. Photos: IDF Spokesperson's Unit IDF In Pictures September 8, 2003 Israel Air Force attack helicopters targeted a Hamas arms depot in the Gaza Strip...

UN Chief Kofi Annan condemns IDF raid in Rafah as `disproportionate use of force in densely populated areas` (DPA)

IDF ENTERS GAZA TO CLOSE TERROR TUNNELS By INA and AP Jerusalem---October 10......The Israel Defense Forces sent tanks and elite ground units into a Gaza refugee camp early Friday to destroy tunnels used by Palestinian terrorists to smuggle weapons from Egypt. Military officials said they acted on warnings that terrorists were trying to acquire anti-aircraft missiles. The raid followed a day of political uncertainty and sporadic violence in the region. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia suffered a severe blow when legislators failed to vote on his Cabinet, casting doubt on his plan to reach a truce with Israel. And a...