
 Israel Air  Force planes fired on a group of terrorists in northern Gaza on Wednesday night.  The terrorists were hit as they fired a rocket aimed at Israeli targets in the  western Negev.
 
 Sources in Gaza said one terrorist was killed and four  were injured. The incident took place near the village of Tel  A-Zatar.
 
 The dead terrorist was identified as a member of Islamic Jihad.  Earlier in the evening Ynet reported that Hamas leaders had asked Islamic Jihad  to stop firing rockets at Israeli towns. 
 
 Hamas was reportedly concerned  over the “security deterioration” that began on Tuesday night when IDF soldiers  entered Gaza to destroy a terrorist tunnel. Military sources said the tunnel was  meant for use in a kidnapping attack targeting soldiers. 
 
 During the  Tuesday night IDF mission, Hamas terrorists opened fire on the soldiers as they  destroyed the tunnel, leading to a gun battle in which one terrorist was killed  and four soldiers were wounded. Terrorists then fired mortar shells towards  Israeli communities, leading the IAF to conduct an airstrike that killed four  Arabs and ended the shelling. Heavy shelling and rocket fire resumed on  Wednesday morning as terrorists fired dozens of short-range rockets towards the  western Negev, causing damage and psychological shock but no  injuries.
 
 Following the day's events, Defense Minister Ehud Barak  expressed hope that the temporary ceasefire with Hamas would continue. "The IDF  entered Gaza on Tuesday night in order to remove an immediate threat, but Israel  remained interested in maintaining calm in the Gaza belt area," he said.