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(Good Video showing Palestinians leaving at the link) The Israeli army requested Palestinians living in the north of the blockaded Gaza Strip, estimated to number around 1.1 million people, to relocate to the south of the territory. In a written statement, the Israeli army (IDF) claimed that members of the Izeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, are hiding in tunnels and under houses in Gaza, as well as in buildings inhabited by civilians. In the statement, which stated that the armed wing of Hamas declared war on Israel, "Gaza City is an area where military operations are carried...

Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Pashwazman was killed by a rocket in the city of Ashdod, the fourth person killed in the current round of fighting. When the siren went off, the deceased ran to a stairwell to take cover but was hit by shrapnel from the rocket. Rescuers who arrived at the scene attempted to revive him and evacuated him to the hospital, but he died of his wounds on arrival. The deceased, a young yeshiva student in his early twenties, was a Gur Hasid. He was born in Beit Shemesh to a father who serves as a teacher in the...

Tweets and video at link. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday ordered the Israeli army to invade Gaza following a number of attacks from Hamas. Hamed Ahmed Abed Khudri, the Hamas commander, was killed during one of Israeli's return fires, the country's military said. "I instructed the military this morning to continue its massive strikes on terror elements in the Gaza Strip and ordered it to reinforce the troops around the Gaza Strip with tanks, artillery and infantry force," Netanyahu said in a statement. "Hamas bears responsibility not only for its own attacks and actions but also those by...

A fierce debate is raging within Israel’s military over the extent to which soldiers should be held legally accountable for their actions during last year’s Gaza war, with commanders increasingly at odds with military lawyers. The dispute has set off a firestorm in Israel, where many say the legal threat would shackle soldiers in any future battle, lower their morale and shatter a sacred trust on which Israel’s compulsory military service relies.But with the Palestinians announcing their application last week to the International Criminal Court, the decision to investigate becomes all the more pressing: A robust Israeli inquiry into its...

Two Israeli civilians were shot dead Wednesday afternoon when a group of Palestinian terrorists infiltrated the border from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, at the filling depot at the Nahal Oz border terminal. Two other Israelis were wounded in the attack. The Israeli emergency service Zaka said two Palestinian terrorists were killed. "Terrorists entered Nahal Oz and the fuel depot. They shot at civilians inside. There are two Israelis dead and two wounded," an IDF spokeswoman said. There are two Israelis dead and two wounded," an IDF spokeswoman said. Advertisement Israeli security forces were also checking whether there were...

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Israel rules out major Gaza military offensive Last updated: 11-05-02, 08:52 Israel appears to have ruled out a major military offensive in the Gaza Strip, moving instead toward preparing a limited operation with specific targets, public radio said today. Plans were revised at a meeting last night between defense minister Mr Binyamin Ben Eliezer and senior military officials. A modified, more limited operation with specific targets and a reduced number of ground forces was on the cards, according to security sources. They said the strategy was altered because the Israeli military had lost the element of surprise. Mr Ben...