(Communicated by the IDF Spokesperson)
On August 18, 2011, a series of terrorist attacks was perpetrated against civilians and IDF soldiers in Israel's southern region. Eight people were killed in the day’s attacks and at least 31 were wounded.
Following the terrorist attacks near Eilat, the IAF targeted a building housing senior Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) militants responsible for carrying out the attacks. The strike killed three PRC terrorists, including the head of the organization in the Gaza Strip, Kamal Nirab, head of the military wing of the organization, Imad Hamed, and a PRC senior operative, Khaled Sha’at.
IAF aircraft targeted five squads of terrorists in the northern and central Gaza Strip, who had fired rockets and mortars at Israel.
In addition, IAF aircraft targeted fifteen terror sites across the Gaza Strip, including: terrorist infrastructures, terrorist outposts, smuggling tunnels, terror tunnels used for storage of weapons and rockets and to attack Israel, and manufacturing facilities.
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said on Friday that IDF forces are continuing to search the area of Thursday's terrorist attacks for weaponry left behind by terrorists.
"The IDF will continue to prevent terrorism and will respond decisively and with force in the Gaza Strip," Brig. Gen. Mordechai said. "At the same time, we are setting up investigations to learn the lessons of Thursday's events." Brig. Gen. Mordechai called on residents of southern Israel to follow the instructions given by the Homefront Command.
The IDF will not tolerate attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. The IDF will act decisively against any element that uses terrorism against Israel. The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization for all terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip.