TEL AVIV - Israeli ground troops backed by armour entered the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, in what a military spokeswoman described as a sweep for militant suspects. The force penetrated about one kilometre into the salient, the spokeswoman said.Palestinian sources said the troops took over two homes in the area and stationed themselves on the rooftops. They said the Israelis ordered all male residents of the Gaza-Egypt border town of Rafah aged between 16 to 45 to gather in a central square.
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz told the Knesset Foreign and Defence Committee that the military was acting in an ‘aggressive’ manner to combat Palestinian rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.