Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – Israeli planes struck a rocket-launching cell in Gaza Strip early Sunday, killing a third Palestinian within 24 hours. Palestinian security sources said Yasser Mohammed Al-Atal, 24, was killed in the strike, which targeted a motorcycle east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza strip. One other man was reportedly injured. The sources said that Al-Atal was an active member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the leftist group that opposes Hamas' policies in coastal enclave. The Israeli army's spokesperson's unit said in a statement that the cell targeted was gearing to fire rockets at Israel. The Hamas government said that “the Israeli aggression is very serious… Israel is seeking an altercation ahead of the elections.” Ihab Al-Ghussein, the spokesman of the Hamas government, said that “the strikes in Gaza reflect the crisis Israel is in… The occupation is trying to achieve its political goals at the expense of the Palestinian people's blood, but the resistance can make it stop.” The development came hours after an Israeli drone targeted a cell in Jabalya city, in northern Gaza Strip, killing two operatives affiliated with Al-Qaeda. A senior Israeli army's official said Tuesday that Israel is weighing the option of a wide-scale military offensive against Gaza Strip in response the firing of rockets into southern Israel. The official told the Hebrew daily Ma'ariv that the operation would include a large-scale ground incursion, not unlike the 2008-2009 Israeli offensive in the area. Hamas movement said it is taking Israeli threats to launch military operation in Gaza seriously. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, a Gaza-based Hamas leader, said that Israel did not need any excuse to attack Gaza Strip, such as the firing of rockets at Israeli communities, “because it is doing so continuously through air raids and invasions.” Al-Zahhar warned Israel against launching such an attack saying that his movement was ready “for the battle with the occupation.” “Hamas has enough methods to inflict pain on Israel in case it launched a military operation,” the Hamas' official said. The Gaza war report, conducted by a UN fact-finding mission led by South African judge Richard Goldstone, found that Israel has committed war crimes in its offensive which killed 1,400 Palestinians. Amnesty International confirmed that 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the offensive. Of these, 300 were children, more than 115 were women and about 85 were men over the age of 50. Amnesty said that another 200 of the men who were under 50 were unarmed civilians who were not combatants. Some 5,000 Palestinians were wounded during the fighting. Amnesty International also found that more than 3,000 Palestinian homes and hundreds of other properties were destroyed during the fighting and more than 20,000 structures were damaged. In addition to private homes, the Israeli forces destroyed factories, workshops, animal farms, orchards, government buildings, police stations and prisons.
