Earlier Wednesday, as the army moved in force into southern Gaza, Hamas sources reportedly told an independent Palestinian news agency that the IDF had killed two Palestinians near Rafah, one of whom was active in preparing and executing the abduction of Cpl. Gilad Shalit from the Kerem Shalom outpost on June 25. According to Israel Radio, Ashraf el-Muashar had been a senior operative in Hamas' military wing. The report, which has not been confirmed, came on the heels of a recent order issued to the IDF by the diplomatic echelon to begin drawing up plans for a widespread operation in the Gaza Strip in an effort to pressure Hamas into releasing Shalit and to prevent the terror buildup in the Palestinian territory. Meanwhile, with Kassams still being fired at the western Negev and Hamas claiming to be building up an army, the IDF has set in motion preparations for a massive ground incursion into the Gaza Strip, one that senior officers in the Southern Command claim will be "larger than ever before." On Tuesday, in a sign of what is in store for the IDF, soldiers from the Beduin Reconnaissance Battalion, who were operating along the Philadelphi Route for the first time since the Gaza disengagement, uncovered two tunnels used to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Egypt. One of the tunnels was 12 meters deep. The IDF has found 15 smuggling tunnels since the end of June, when the army intensified activity in the Gaza Strip following the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit.
Capt. Noa Meir, an army spokeswoman, said Israel would continue military operations as long as was necessary to block the flow of arms - which she said included guns, explosives and anti-tank rockets - into Gaza. "The tunnels are part of a production line meant to kill Israelis, and it's our job to stop it," Meir said.
Palestinian Authority officials warned Israel on Tuesday against launching a military operation in Gaza, while Hamas announced that its men said they were prepared to thwart any attempt by the IDF to invade the area. "Such an attack will have grave consequences on security and stability in the entire region," said Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. He said the PA has appealed to the US to intervene with Israel to prevent a large-scale attack in the Gaza Strip.
The armed wing of Hamas, Izaddin al-Kassam, announced that it had completed its preparations for a possible confrontation with the IDF. A spokesman for the group warned that "the fighters of the al-Kassam will not have mercy on the cowardly [Israeli] soldiers. Your destroyed tanks will become the eternal testimony of your failure and of your running away from the Gaza Strip."
Hamas leaders denied Israeli charges that their movement had smuggled large amounts of weapons into the Gaza Strip, including advanced anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles. IDF officers have raised fears that advanced Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles had been smuggled into Gaza. "These charges are meant to provide an excuse for Israel to invade the Gaza Strip and launch a new aggression on our people," said a senior Hamas official in Gaza City.