As Israel continues its operation in Gaza, citizens of the Shuja’iyya neighborhood say they have received phone messages calling on them to leave their homes, Israel Radio reported.
The Israeli army has been operating in Shuja’iyya for two days now, and according to the IDF Spokesman’s Office 20 wanted Palestinians have been killed. Palestinian sources, however, report that 24 people were killed in the past two days in Shuja’iyya, including at least 10 civilians.
The infantry soldiers operating in the neighborhood are also receiving aerial support. Reports indicate that the Israel Air Force last night attacked three weapons storages. The Israeli army says the terrorists are concealing arms, ammunition and rockets inside residences, and that they are using the neighborhood as a launching ground for Qassam rockets into Israeli communities.
Israel began its military operation in the Gaza Strip immediately following the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit on June 25.
Meanwhile, three Qassam rockets fell Thursday morning in the Israeli town of Sderot, located only a few kilometers off the northern Gaza Strip. One of the rockets fell near a local high school. There were no reports on casualties.