By JOSH BRANNON
The IDF said on Friday that they suspected that Palestinian gunmen had dressed up as women in order to foil the army's attempts to gain access to the mosque in Gaza where Palestinian operatives were holed up inside.
Hamas radio station in Gaza broadcast a call to northern Gaza women to go to the mosque to serve as human shields for the operatives inside.
A 19-hour standoff between IDF troops and the operatives ended Friday morning after all the operatives fled.
IDF soldiers surrounded the mosque in the northeast Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun and exchanged fire with the dozens of Palestinians who were inside.