At least 11 Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded on Thursday night when Palestinians fired four mortar shells at an outpost near the "Atzmona" settlement in the southern Gaza Strip.
Also Thursday, Israeli occupation troops in the Gaza Strip shot dead early in the day a member of the Islamic Jihad who tried to plant an explosive device near a settlement, sources told the Associated Press.
The Israeli Army confirmed its troops found the body of a Palestinian near "Kissufim" crossing in the central Gaza Strip. The Palestinian had been carrying two grenades, a rifle and some magazines of ammunition.
Late Wednesday, a joint Palestinian attack on an Israeli vehicle along the Kissufim road in the Gaza Strip left five soldiers wounded. The two attackers - Ashraf Ba’losha, 19, of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (Fatah) and Hassan Al-Banna, 20, of the Quds Brigades (Islamic Jihad) were killed in the gun battle that followed the attack.
Meanwhile, Israel has decided to attend a Mideast conference in London early next year, a senior official said Thursday. The official added Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has sent a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreeing to attend the conference, tentatively scheduled for February.
