IDF officer killed as Israeli troops hit five squads of Gaza militants

[bemildred]

The Israel Defense Forces attacked five squads of Palestinian gunmen in Gaza on Thursday, as an IDF officer was killed during a gunbattle with Hamas militants in the coastal strip.

The IDF said it hit more than 25 targets across Gaza, including nine weapons caches, most of which were located under militants' homes.

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Meanwhile, Major Roey Rosner, 27, an officer in the Kfir infantry brigade, was killed when his unit was hit with an anti-tank missile while on patrol in the former settlement of Netzarim. Another soldier was lightly wounded in the incident.

This was the first time Hamas militants have used such weapons since Israel began its offensive in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah guerillas made extensive use of anti-tank missiles against IDF troops during the Second Lebanon War.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053805.html

[bemildred]

1. 7 IDF troops hurt, one seriously, in mortar strike on Negev

Seven Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded on Thursday, one of whom seriously, in a mortar attack by Gaza militants on the western Negev.

One of the IDF troops was also moderately hurt and the others sustained light wounds in the attack. Palestinian militants fired about 20 rockets into Israel on Thursday.

Just before mortar strike, a rocket fired by Gaza militants scored a direct hit on a sports facility next to a school in Ashkelon.

The strikes occurred just after 1 P.M., technically the beginning of a 3-hour temporary 'humanitarian truce' during which Israel and Hamas have agreed to hold their fire to allow free flow of aid to Gaza.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053878.html