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Israel launches new Gaza raid, sets up service for Pals pilgrims

By: Ahmed Hammadi

JABALIYA, Gaza Strip: The Israeli army launched a major new incursion into the northern Gaza Strip shortly after it wrapped up an operation in the south of the occupied territory on Sunday while hundreds of Palestinians headed to Holy Mecca from the Gaza Strip after Israel made arrangements to enable them despite the closure of the border into Egypt.

Around 50 tanks and armored vehicles trundled into the Beit Hanun area near the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Palestinian territory.

The Rafah border crossing between southern Gaza and Egypt has been closed since an attack on an Israeli army post there on December 12, effectively preventing Palestinians from leaving the territory for all but emergency cases in the last three weeks.

But the army said in a statement it would operate a special bus service which would take some 4,500 pilgrims from the Erez crossing between Israel and northern Gaza to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.

Once in Egypt, the Palestinian pilgrims would then be able to fly to Saudi Arabia.

A statement by the Palestinian Authority confirmed that around 800 pilgrims had traveled on the first bus on Sunday, and similar numbers would make the same journey over the next few days.

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