2 Kassams hit South after IDF kills 2 Gazans planting bombs

Two Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel on Sunday, hours after the IDF fired on several Palestinians suspected of planting explosives along the security fence, killing two Islamic Jihad terrorists.

A combined force of IAF helicopters and armored troops reported direct hits on the suspects. Islamic Jihad’s military wing said in a statement that two of its fighters had been killed in the incident east of Khan Yunis. Israeli military sources confirmed the two deaths.

An IDF statement noted that a number of bombs had been detonated near IDF patrols along the border in the past month.

“The presence of Palestinian civilians in the area adjacent to the security fence is used by terrorist organizations as a cover for their activities, including the planting of explosive devices, planning terrorist attacks and attempting to kidnap IDF soldiers,” the statement said. “For this reason, the IDF will not allow anyone to be present in this area.”

Speaking on the second anniversary of the start of Operation Cast Lead, Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom expressed the hope that there would not be an escalation of violence with Gaza.

“I hope there is not need for another operation such as Cast Lead,” Shalom told Israel Radio.

“But if this situation continues, if rockets keep being smuggled in and they continue shooting at Israel in an attempt to hit innocent civilians, then obviously we will have to respond, and respond forcefully.”

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http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=200984

Mass evacuations as huge blaze threatens Haifa

Mass evacuations were continuing across northern Israel in the early hours of Friday morning as dry easterly winds fanned a massive brushfire towards the city of Haifa.

Over 13,000 residents, including 600 prison inmates, were evacuated as the blaze raged out of control, devastating hundreds of acres of pine forest as flames swept down the slopes of the Carmel plateau towards Israel's third largest city.

By mid-evening Thursday, fire chiefs had admitted publicly that they had lost control of the fire, believed to have started in an illegal landfill site.

As the flames neared the city limits, residents of Denya, an affluent district of Haifa – a busy port city and the north's economic heartland – were moved to safety.

At around 4:00 A.M., local time, firefighters said the blaze had reached Highway 4, a major traffic artery linking the north with Tel Aviv, but that they had succeeded in stopping the blaze from spreading further.

Earlier, 40 were killed when a bus carrying prison service trainees to assist in the evacuation was engulfed by fire after a falling tree blocked its path.

Two firefighters and a policeman were also among the dead. Elsewhere, at least two more fire crew were reported missing, while the Haifa district police chief was among the injured.

Across the region, traffic crawled to a standstill, with balck smoke and flames visible for miles around.

The blaze broke out shortly before lunchtime and spread rapidly across the tinder-dry Carmel countryside, parched by the hottest November in Israel in 60 years.

One of the first residential areas to be evacuated was Kibbutz Beit Oren, where all 400 residents reached safety before the entire collective farm was razed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said evacuations would continue and that authorities would take no risks where civilian lives were in danger.

"Evacuations will be conducted as needed, with sufficient advance warning. We do not want any more injuries," he said.

As the fire raged on, the town Isfiyeh, a center of Israel's Druze community, much of which is concentrated in the Carmel mountains, was next to be evacuated.

Police also evacuated prisoners from Prison 6 and Carmel Prison, as well as students in Haifa University dormitories, who were transferred to a nearby high school.

Some 200 patients from the Tirat Hacarmel psychiatric hospital were also evacuated.

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http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/mass-evacuations-as-huge-blaze-threatens-haifa-1.328517