IAF strike kills Jihad operative in Gaza

IDF: Target had fired Kassams at Sderot; two terror suspects hurt in airstrike.

By YAAKOV KATZ, JPOSTLEO GIOSUÈCOM STAFF, AP
jihad guys great 298.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
jihad guys great 298.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
An Islamic Jihad gunman was killed and two others were wounded when an IAF aircraft targeted a car traveling in eastern Gaza City on Sunday night, the first such attack since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip earlier this month. The IDF said that the man killed, Hussan Khalil al-Hur, had fired Kassam rockets at Sderot earlier in the day, wounding three people. Military source said he was also suspected of being the engineer who manufactured the rockets. The two other operatives in the car had also been involved in terror activity, including rocket attacks on Israel.
  • Three lightly wounded in Kassam attack Islamic Jihad said the vehicle was carrying its members on a "holy mission" - code for an attack on Israel. Hamas television footage showed the burned car with at least one rocket inside. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned that his organization would retaliate against Israel. "Israeli attacks are continuing on Gaza, and there are responses from the resistance to these attacks," he said. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Sunday that the kidnappers of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston had made a new video of the abducted journalist wearing what appeared to be explosives around his waist, Reuters reported. "In the past they showed him in an orange uniform. Today they showed him with an explosives belt round his waist," it quoted Haniyeh as saying. Johnston was abducted in Gaza on March 12 and is believed to be held by a small group of gunmen called Army of Islam. On Sunday morning, three people were lightly wounded when they were hit by shrapnel from two Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Both rockets landed in Sderot, one in the city's center. In addition to the wounded, several people suffered from shock. The victims were evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. A residential home that was hit approximately a month ago sustained damage in the attack. Palestinian terrorists fired 11 mortars at Israel on Sunday afternoon, hitting an area near the Karni crossing. Nobody was hurt in the attack, but firefighters were working to put out a brush fire that erupted as a result of the explosions. Sunday's strike came less than a week after the western Negev experienced a similar attack last Wednesday, during which three people were lightly wounded when nine rockets were fired into the area. In that attack, five rockets landed within the Sderot city limits. Two homes and a synagogue in Sderot sustained damage, Israel Radio reported. Two more rockets fell near Kibbutz Nir Am, one south of Ashkelon and one landed in another western Negev location. Jerusalem Post staff and AP contributed to this report.