JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Hamas commander in charge of launching rockets into Israel from the Gaza City area was killed Saturday by Israeli ground fire, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Amir Mansi was also the leading Hamas authority on the Grad long-range missile-launching system, the IDF said.
Grad rockets have allowed Hamas to reach farther into Israel than in previous attacks. The rockets carry more explosives than the more primitive Qassam rockets typically used by Hamas, and some can travel as far as 25 miles.
The Israeli military said Mansi directed and actively fired dozens of rockets at Israel, killing and wounding Israeli civilians.
Mansi was spotted firing a rocket Saturday from the Jabel Rise area, east of Gaza City, during a ground force operation, the IDF said. Israeli forces opened fire, killing Mansi and wounding two other Hamas operatives, who were captured, the Israelis said.
Meanwhile, two pair of Israeli F-16 fighter jets violated Egyptian airspace Saturday evening, a CNN team observed.
"We can tell they're coming through Egyptian airspace because they're over the far side of the building where we're standing," CNN's Karl Penhaul reported from Rafah, Egypt. He was atop a building about 500 meters (547 yards) from the Gaza border.
The jets were on bombing runs in southern Gaza. The Israelis have been bombing tunnels that run under the border of southern Gaza and Egypt. Israel says Hamas smuggles weapons and munitions through them into Gaza.
A spokesman for the Egyptian prime minister's office said the Israeli aircraft did not have permission to use the airspace. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said no airspace violation had occurred.
Israelis say they are targeting rocket-launching sites, Hamas infrastructure and the movement's leaders in an effort to stop militants from sending rockets into southern Israel.
Israel's military operation in Gaza began with airstrikes December 27. A week later, the military launched a ground assault. Palestinian medical sources said that more than 800 Palestinians have been killed in the attacks, including 235 children, and about 3,300 people have been wounded. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have died since the operation began.
In Gaza City, heavy black smoke rose during a three-hour period Saturday afternoon during which Israel was to halt its attacks on militants so Palestinians could stock up on supplies.
CNN's Ben Wedeman said the lulls, which have been tried before, aren't "rock solid." Limited military activity continues during that period, he said.
A United Nations spokesman said Saturday's pause was not long enough to resume the transport of humanitarian supplies from Israel into Gaza.
Thousands of leaflets dropped by Israeli planes fluttered over Gaza City while the three-hour lull -- the third this week -- was in place.
Leaflets dropped along the Egyptian border warned residents to leave their houses because the Israeli military planned attacks in the area, Palestinian security forces said.
According to a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, the leaflets say: "Two days ago, the IDF distributed leaflets in Rafah in which the residents were warned to evacuate their homes for their own safety. As they heeded the IDF instructions, the harming of residents in combat was avoided.
"Over the coming period, the IDF will continue to target tunnels, weapon caches and terrorist operatives with growing intensity. For your safety and that of your family, stay away from terrorist elements or places where weapons are stored or places where terrorist elements operate."
A family of nine was killed Saturday when a shell hit their home in the village of Jebalya in northern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said.
The Israeli military was not there at the time, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said.
"The IDF was not operating in the area of this house, and no fire was directed in that direction," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, in Cairo, Egypt, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss a possible cease-fire.
Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said during a televised news conference Saturday night that his followers will consider any proposals to stop the violence if conditions are met: the Israelis stop their "aggression" and all crossings between Israel and Gaza are opened.
"These are our just demands, and with an open mind we will interact with any initiative," Mashaal said.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/10/israel.gaza/index.html
Topic: Hamas rocket team leader killed, Israel says (Read 328 times)