Israeli tanks moved into the autonomous southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Saturday, following an overnight helicopter attack on a security compound in the same area, Palestinian security sources told AFP. Meanwhile, a Palestinian young man succumbed to injuries he had earlier received in clashes with the Israeli army.
Two tanks have taken up positions 500 meters (yards) inside the boundaries of the self-rule Palestinian city which borders Egypt, but there was no shooting, the sources told the agency.
The Israeli army had no immediate comment on its latest incursion but earlier told AFP that three Palestinian-fired mortar shells exploded near a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip, causing no casualties, but one of them landing near a patrol of Israeli soldiers.
An unnamed "senior political official" quoted by Israeli public radio also warned Israel will retaliate to "every round of mortar fired" by the Palestinians.
Early Saturday morning Israeli Apache helicopters slammed missiles into security buildings in Rafah, destroying offices of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Force 17 guards and military intelligence and severely damaging the police headquarters.
There were no casualties there either, as the buildings had been evacuated.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian official news agency (WAFA) reported that that Khalil Abdul Fattah Abu Shaweesh died in Gaza Saturday of wounds he received on Tuesday.
The agency said that Israeli soldiers had shot Abu Shaweesh in the head and the arm – Albawaba.com
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