35 Kassam Rockets Hit Israel After IDF Kills Six Terrorists

Israel Defense Forces are withdrawing from Gaza Strip on Wednesday November 5, 2008. A barrage of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, hit southern Israel on Wednesday morning after IDF forces engaged Hamas gunmen inside the Strip and killed six. It was the worst outbreak of violence since a shaky cease-fire took effect in June. Hamas claimed responsibility for the rockets, which caused no reported injuries or damages. Two of the rockets exploded in the northern Negev city of Ashkelon, one struck a kibbutz in the western Negev and six others were located in open fields. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded and six gunmen were reported killed in the clashes, which began when IDF special forces entered Gaza in order to blow up a tunnel dug by Hamas terrorists for the purpose of kidnapping IDF soldiers. A soldier was lightly wounded in the ensuing firefight with Hamas gunmen, the IDF said, adding that there were also casualties among the gunmen. Since the cease-fire went into effect in June, Hamas has dug an unknown number of tunnels to facilitate future attacks on Israel and to smuggle large quantities of weapons from Sinai. The tunnels are seen as central to Hamas's terrorist infrastructure in the Strip. Photo by Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye.