BEIT HANOUN (PIC)– IOF tanks and heavy armored vehicles advanced at noon Tuesday into northern Gaza Strip and almost sealed off the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing eyewitnesses reported.

A reporter in the terminal said that tens of journalists were trapped there after the IOF advance.

IOF shooting last night at Palestinians who fled the Strip and headed to Israel via the terminal but were denied crossing by the IOF killed a Palestinian and wounded many others.

The Palestinians fled the Strip after Hamas fighters took control of all security apparatuses in order to enforce law and order after criminals and mutiny elements within Fatah faction took refuge in those apparatuses. Those Palestinians are reportedly connected to the mutiny trend.

Meanwhile Palestinian resistance fighters blasted a device in the advancing IOF units in Beit Hanoun blasting one of their armored vehicles.

Beit Hanun (PIC)- IOF troops advanced into northern areas of the Gaza Strip at a late hour Friday amidst intensified firing at Palestinian residential quarters PA security sources reported.

They said that the IOF unit composed of six tanks stormed the industrial area in Beit Hanun town north of the Strip.

IOF troops have kept on violating the truce declared with the Palestinian resistance factions over a month ago through firing at farmers in those areas but it was the first time that they used tanks to advance into Gazan territory.

Meanwhile the Qassam Brigades the armed wing of the Hamas Movement on Saturday announced the martyrdom of Sami Afana 27 who was critically injured on Friday 29/12/2006 in an explosion in Gaza city.

Two other Qassam members were killed in the same explosion. The armed wing said that the two were martyred while on a Jihad mission.

Afana who was responsible for manufacturing explosions had been in ICU since the explosion.