Israeli army left Gaza Strip after a four-day wide scale operation in which 8 Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured in addition to a huge damage in property and infrastructure.
According to the army, the operation started Wednesday and was focused on the northeren part of the Strip, aimed on stoping the Qassam rockets and Mortar attacks at Israeli southern town of Sderot, outside of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian sources and eyewitnesses said, the operation left at least 10 demolished homes and 20 damaged ones to various degrees, additionally, five factories were also damaged and thousands of dunams of agricultural land were bulldozed.
The same sources said, the Israeli invasion also caused serious damages to the infrastructure in the invaded areas, especially in Beit Lahia, and Jabalia where the phone network, sweage, water pipelines and power cables were badly damaged.
Army threatnend that its military operation in the Gaza Strip will be long.
‘We will take action to prevent the launchings of Qassam rockets for as long as necessary,’ an army source said.
However, apparently, army decided to end the operation on Saturday, and reopened the main roads in the strip after they have been blocked when the operation started.
Four Qassam rockets fell in the western Negev on Friday, the third day of the military operation.
Army Radio quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying Friday that although the army operation in Gaza would not completely stop the launch of Qassams at Israeli targets, it was putting pressure on the the Palestinian resistance and would continue for as long as necessary.
An Israel Air Force helicopter fired a missile into the northern Gaza camp Friday, where troops have been carrying out an operation since Thursday morning.
Witnesses and medics said that three civilians were wounded in the missile strike, which the army said targeted a group of armed militants.
On Wedensday, Israeli forces pushed a large number of soldiers backed with tanks, armored personnel carriers into the Gaza Strip from both northern and southern sides in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
This invasion came one day after an Israeli air strike killed 15 and wounded over 40 Palestinians who were in a community center that belongs to Hamas in Gaza city as they were working out in ‘Sheikh Ahmad Yassin Playground’ in Al-Shijaeyyeh neighborhood.
