Al-Aksa Brigades: We also fought IDF in Gaza

Fatah's armed wing says its gunmen fired 137 projectiles, shot soldiers during operation.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade gunmen 248 88 (photo credit: 88)
Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade gunmen 248 88
(photo credit: 88)
Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, announced on Monday that its men in the Gaza Strip fired 102 rockets and 35 mortars at Israel during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. The group also said its snipers shot and wounded three IDF soldiers and detonated six explosive devices against Israeli troops. This was the first time Fatah confirmed that its members had been fighting alongside Hamas during the war. But it's not clear whether the decision to involve the group in the battles was taken by the faction's leadership in the West Bank. When the military offensive began, some Fatah officials publicly called on their men in the Gaza Strip to participate in the fighting against the IDF. The Aksa Martyrs Brigades revealed that Ali Hijazi, one of its top commanders and the man in charge of cells that fired rockets at Israel, was killed during the operation. The group said that most of its rocket and mortar attacks were carried out in cooperation with members of Islamic Jihad's armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades.