Israeli forces withdrew from southeast Gaza Strip on Sunday morning following three days of limited ground operation, witnesses said.
The army caused great damage to Gaza International Airport located in the middle of the operation area in the east of Rafah town in southern Gaza Strip. The small airport has been closed since early 2001.
The Israeli offensive left no casualties on both sides though the Palestinian militant groups, mainly Hamas and the Islamic Jihad (Holy War), announced several times they have fired mortar shells and missiles toward the airfield.
After Hamas seized control of Gaza Strip in June, the Israeli forces doubled raids on Palestinian-controlled areas in the Gaza Strip located alongside the borders with the Jewish state.
Saraya al-Quds, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, announced on Sunday its militants have fired three home-made rockets into an Israeli army base at Kerem Shalom crossing point near Rafah.
The Palestinian armed groups increased the attacks on the Israeli-run crossing, defying attempts to bring thousands of Palestinians, stranded in Egypt, to Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing on the borders between Israel and Egypt.
Instead, the factions demand the opening of the Rafah border terminal between Palestine and Egyptian which has been sealed off since Hamas' takeover of the strip.
Source: Xinhua
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