Following the fatal sniper fire from Gaza earlier today, Tuesday, 21 Teves 5773 that claimed the life of a civilian IDF employee, the IDF is carrying out a military operation in Gaza. The IDF spokesman is confirming an anti-terror operation is underway involving air land and armored personnel. Earlier in the afternoon helicopter gunships launched aerial strikes against terrorist targets in Gaza, accompanied by artillery fire. It is now being reported that infantry forces did play a role in some sort of operation inside Gaza. Clearly the IDF was acting on solid intelligence information, striking at selected areas from the IDF bank of targets that is maintained. Hamas sources reported there were three waves of strikes. There are conflicting reports from Gaza of one or two deaths and a number of causalities. One of the targets was the Hamas military wing in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, the al-Quds al-Arabi website is reporting. Hamas commanders and officials earlier in the day cleared their offices in expectation of a retaliatory strike. Sniper fire struck a civilian working on repairing the border fence that sustained damage in last week’s winter storm. Flooding resulted in significant damage in the border area. The victim, who was gravely wounded from the gunfire died later in the day in Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva. The victim has been identified as a 22-year-old resident of the Bedouin community of Rahat, Salah Abu el-Tial. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)