Operation Autumn Clouds
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This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
| Operation Autumn Clouds | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Operation Summer Rains | |||||||||
 Israeli troops prepare to move into Gaza. |
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| Combatants | |||||||||
 Israel (Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Security Forces) |
 Hamas Popular Resistance Committees, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades,Jaish al-Islam |
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| Commanders | |||||||||
| Dan Halutz (Chief of Staff) Yoav Galant (Regional) |
Khaled Mashal (Leader of Hamas[1]) Mohammed Deif (Leader of Hamas' military wing) |
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| Casualties | |||||||||
| 1 killed[2] 3 civilians wounded |
53 killed (38militants + 15civilians) 200 wounded [3] |
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| Al-Aqsa Intifada |
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| Noah’s Ark – Defensive Shield – Rainbow – Days of Penitence – Summer Rains – Autumn Clouds |
Operation Autumn Clouds (Hebrew: מבצע ענני סתיו, Mivtza Ananei Stav) is an Israeli military operation that began on 1 November 2006 as part of Operation Summer Rains when the Israeli Defense Forces entered the Gaza Strip triggering sporadic fighting near Beit Hanoun. The operation is the largest military endeavor undertaken by the Israeli military since Operation Summer Rains.[2]The operation was launched to stop Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel.
On 5 November Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the operation would continue until Palestinian rocket attacks significantly decreased. He did not give a timetable for the withdrawal.[3]
Earlier November 5 four Qassam rockets fired from northern Gaza struck Sderot, causing one person to go into shock, and shattering hopes of a quick end to the widening IDF Gaza operation.[4]
Palestinian government officials said on 7 November that IDF troops were beginning to withdraw, thus ending the operation. Fifty-three Palestinians, including 16 civilians, and an IDF soldier, were killed since October 31.[5]
[edit] Aftermath
Numerous buildings in Beit Hanoun bore the scars of tank shells and one mosque was left with only its minaret standing, AFP reported. Tens of thousands of residents had been ordered to stay indoors, leading to shortages of electricity and water. [4]
One day after the Israeli retreat, 19 Palestinian civilians were killed by an Israeli artillery shelling of a family house in Beit Hanoun. The shelling came to disrupt Grad and Qassam rockets attack on Sderot and Ashkelon.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "PM: No Hamas member is immune", Ynetnews, 2006-07-02.
- ^ IDF soldier and at least 10 Palestinian gunmen killed in Gaza Jerusalem Post
- ^ Report: IDF operation in Gaza Strip to last several more days Ha'aretz
- ^ Palestinians: IDF begins withdrawing from Beit Hanun Jerusalem Post
- ^ PA sources: IDF soldiers begin pulling out of northern Gaza Ha'aretz
