26 June 2006

Associated Press, June 25, 2006:

Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early Sunday, June 25, 2006, attacking a military post and killing two soldiers before soldiers shot dead three gunmen, the army, militants and witnesses said. Also one Israeli soldier was missing after the attack, the army said. The small Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants from the ruling Hamas group and from a previously unknown group, the Islam Army, participated in the attack.

Attack Location http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/gaza_strip_may_2005.jpg (Cropped)

Attack Location http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=israel&ie=UTF8&ll=31.272242,34.282837&spn=0.1253,0.271912&t=k&om=0

Kerem Shalom

Dahanya

Kerem Shalom Crossing (Current Improvements Not Shown)

Sufa Crossing

Rafah Crossing

Captions by Associated Press
Clouds of smoke and dust rise after Israeli troops blew up the tunnel used by Palestinian militants on Sunday to carry out an attack on a military post near Kibbutz Kerem Shalom in southern Israel, as seen from the Gaza Strip town of Rafah, Monday, June 26, 2006. The 800-yard tunnel started in Gaza and streched 300 yards into Israel. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)	Israeli soldiers watch as smoke rises during a controlled explosion set off Monday, June 26, 2006, by the Israeli army to seal the tunnel used by Palestinian militants yesterday to carry out an attack on a military post near Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, just outside the Gaza Strip, southern Israel. Israel on Monday awaited the results of massive diplomatic efforts to free the captive Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, before embarking on a large military operation. Shalit was abducted during the pre-dawn raid by Palestinian gunmen using the tunnel Sunday near a Gaza border crossing. Two Israeli soldiers and three Palestinian militants were killed in the attack. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli tank maneuvers at a gathering point near Kibbutz Mefalsim southern Israel, Monday, June 26, 2006. With Israel massing tanks and infantry troops along the border with the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday said he has authorized a "broad and ongoing" operation against Palestinian militants following the abduction of an Israeli soldier.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)	A wounded Israeli soldier is wheeled into the Soroka hospital in the southern Israeli town of Beersheva Sunday June 25, 2006. Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early Sunday, attacking a military post the army, militants and witnesses said. The small Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants from the ruling Hamas group and from a previously unknown group, the Islam Army, participated in the attack. Abu Radwan, a spokesman for the PRC, said "there is a large number of fatalities and wounded among the enemy".(AP Photo/Dudu Grunshpan). ** ISRAEL OUT **
Israeli soldiers remove the bodies of two dead comrades after an attack by Palestinian militants at a military post near kibbutz Kerem Shalom, just outside the Gaza Strip, Sunday June 25, 2006. Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early Sunday, attacking a military post and killing two soldiers before soldiers shot dead three gunmen, the army, militants and witnesses said. Also one Israeli soldier was missing after the attack, the army said. The small Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants from the ruling Hamas group and from a previously unknown group, the Islam Army, participated in the attack. In the background the control tower of the closed Gaza airport in the outskirts of the Palestinian town of Rafah. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)	Israeli soldiers remove the bodies of two dead comrades at a military post near kibbutz Kerem Shalom, just outside the Gaza Strip, Sunday June 25, 2006. Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early Sunday, attacking a military post and killing two soldiers before soldiers shot dead three gunmen, the army, militants and witnesses said. The small Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants from the ruling Hamas group and from a previously unknown group, the Islam Army, participated in the attack. Abu Radwan, a spokesman for the PRC, said "there is a large number of fatalities and wounded among the enemy".(AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
Israeli troops arrive to the site of an attack by Palestinian militants at a military post near kibbutz Kerem Shalom, just outside the Gaza Strip, Sunday June 25, 2006. Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early Sunday, attacking a military post and killing two soldiers before soldiers shot dead three gunmen, the army, militants and witnesses said. Also one Israeli soldier was missing after the attack, the army said. The small Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants from the ruling Hamas group and from a previously unknown group, the Islam Army, participated in the attack. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)	Israeli soldiers remove the bodies of two dead comrades after an attack by Palestinian militants at a military post near kibbutz Kerem Shalom, just outside the Gaza Strip, Sunday June 25, 2006. Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early Sunday, attacking a military post and killing two soldiers before soldiers shot dead three gunmen, the army, militants and witnesses said. Also one Israeli soldier was missing after the attack, the army said.. The small Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants from the ruling Hamas group and from a previously unknown group, the Islam Army, participated in the attack.(AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
A damaged Israeli armoured vehicle smokes at the site of an attack by Palestinian militants at a military post near kibbutz Kerem Shalom, just outside the Gaza Strip, Sunday June 25, 2006. Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early Sunday, attacking a military post and killing two soldiers before soldiers shot dead three gunmen, the army, militants and witnesses said. Also one Israeli soldier was missing after the attack, the army said. The small Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants from the ruling Hamas group and from a previously unknown group, the Islam Army, participated in the attack.(AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)	Israeli soldiers walk by a tank in the area where an Israeli military post was attacked by Palestinian militants earlier near kibbutz Kerem Shalom, just outside the Gaza Strip, Sunday June 25, 2006. Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early Sunday, attacking a military post, the army, militants and witnesses said. The small Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, saying militants from the ruling Hamas group and from a previously unknown group, the Islam Army, participated in the attack. Abu Radwan, a spokesman for the PRC, said "there is a large number of fatalities and wounded among the enemy".(AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
Isareli soldiers patrol the border crossing Kerem Shalom, between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip, outside the town of Rafah Wednesday, March 22, 2006. Israel is due to open the crossing to allow food from Egypt into Gaza, the Israeli and Palestinian border authorities said. Israeli military officials said that Palestinians would also be able to send exports through the crossing on Wednesday but the border authorities did not immediately confirm this. Egypt is sending the Palestinians 7,000 tons of food, mostly wheat, rice and sugar through Kerem Shalom. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)	A military convoy advances along the Israel-Egypt border near Kerem Shalom, Monday, Jan. 2, 2006. The troops are reinforcing the forces positioned in the area, in coordination with Egyptian authorities, in an attempt to prevent smuggling from Egypt into Israel and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says the smuggling includes arms, drugs and prostitutes. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
An Israeli soldier prepares his ballot before casting it at a mobile army polling station at a military outpost in Kerem Shalom, on the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, Monday, March 27, 2006. Israeli soldiers scheduled to be on duty on Tuesday, when Israel goes to the polls in a general election, began voting Sunday.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)	An Israeli soldier carries a ballot box used in voting by soldiers, as part of a mobile army polling station at a military outpost in Kerem Shalom, on the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, Monday, March 27, 2006. Israeli soldiers scheduled to be on duty on Tuesday, when Israel goes to the polls in a general election, began voting Sunday.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
An Israeli soldier sits atop an armored vehicle as an Egyptian border tower can be see in the background along the Israel-Egypt border near Kerem Shalom, Monday, Jan. 2, 2006. The troops are enforcing the forces positioned in the area, in coordination with Egyptian authorities, in an attempt to prevent smuggling from Egypt into Israel and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says the smuggling includes arms, drugs and prostitutes. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)	A convoy of Israeli armored military vehicles leaves the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Israel early Monday, Sept. 12, 2005. Convoys of Israeli troops began driving out of the Gaza Strip early Monday, as the Israeli military wrapped up its pullout from the coastal territory after 38 years of occupation. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
The border between Egypt and Israel is seen in the background as an unidentified woman walks through the rubble which used to be the homes of more than 50 families, according to the residents, after they were destroyed last night by Israeli bulldozers in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002. Two Palestinians armed with grenades and assault rifles stormed an Israeli army post at Kerem Shalom near the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, killing four soldiers before being shot dead in a gun battle.(AP Photo/Jockel Finck)	Israeli security forces drag away an Israeli army soldier acting as a settler during a Jewish settlement evacuation drill in Kerem Shalom, a communal farm along Israel's border with Gaza, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005. Beginning Aug. 17, some 55,000 soldiers and police will remove some 9,000 Jewish settlers in 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank. While officials expect most settlers will leave voluntarily, they are bracing for passive resistance and attacks by Jewish extremists or Palestinian militants. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, Pool)