(Communicated by the IDF Spokesman)

In the past week, IDF Ground Forces, with the assistance of the Air Force, continued to operate in the Gaza Strip in order to distance terrorist organizations, particularly Hamas, from the security fence, and to operate against Kassam rockets and mortar shells fired on a daily basis into Israel.

On Monday, Feb 4, IDF forces operating in the southern Gaza Strip, identified two Palestinian gunmen fired at them and identified hitting them. In a joint IDF and ISA activity in the northern Gaza Strip, forces carried out an aerial attack against Amar Karmut, a senior PRC terror-operative, responsible for a massive number of rocket launchings.

On Tuesday, Feb 5, IDF carried out an aerial attack against a post of the Hamas terrorist organization in Southern Gaza. The aerial attack which was carried out after the rocket barrage at Sderot that same morning also killed 7 Hamas terrorists.

On Wednesday, Feb 6, during an IDF operation in the area of the Kassam launching sites in Northern Gaza, the forces uncovered Qassam launching silos, which were hidden two meters undrground. Forces identified hitting several Palestinian gunmen from the ground and from the air. Aerial attacks were carried out against two Hamas targets: a weaponry manufacturing site in Central Gaza and a weapons' warehouse in southern Gaza. In addition, an aerial attack was carried out on a rocket firing cell after it fired at Israel. 

In the past week, approximately 80 Kassam rockets were launched at the Israeli communities in the Western Negev. Approximately 35 mortar shells were launched at the Israeli communities and at IDF forces that operated in the Gaza Strip.