Ground Operation Ends in Gaza; Israeli Forces Kill Senior Terrorist Leaders

The IDF has ended its most recent ground operation inside Gaza, killing one of the most senior Fatah operatives and a leader of one of the terrorist groups responsible for kidnapping Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

Israeli troops killed Raad Al-Najah, a senior PRC official, in the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza. Also this morning, Israeli troops shot and killed Al Aqsa Martyrs Bridades leader Fadi Khafisha in the West Bank city of Nablus. Israel says Khafisha was a senior bomb maker.

Troops supported by armored vehicles began withdrawing from Gaza City early this morning after six days of operations that left 18 Palestinians dead and uncovered a tunnel dug between Gaza and Israel. The reinforced tunnel was at least 13 meters deep and almost 150 meters long, and is believed to have been intended to facilitate either an attack on the Karni crossing, or possibly another raid like the one which resulted in the kidnapping of Shalit.