Operation Rainbow (In Hebrew, Mivtza Keshet Be-Anan, מבצע קשת בענן) is a controversial military operation which began on May 18, 2004 and ended on May 23, 2004 in Rafah (רפיח), the Gaza Strip. Israel's aim was to clear terrorist infrastructure, to find smuggling tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt, and to kill militants after the deaths of 13 Israeli soldiers in guerrilla attacks. Israeli security sources said that operation was also aimed...
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Operation Rainbow (In Hebrew, Mivtza Keshet Be-Anan, מבצע קשת בענן) is a controversial military operation which began on May 18, 2004 and ended on May 23, 2004 in Rafah (רפיח), the Gaza Strip. Israel's aim was to clear terrorist infrastructure, to find smuggling tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt, and to kill militants after the deaths of 13 Israeli soldiers in guerrilla attacks. Israeli security sources said that operation was also aimed at preventing a shipment of Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail) shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, AT-3 Sagger anti-tank guided missiles, and other long-range rockets which are stored on the Egyptian side of the border from being smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip.
On May 11 and May 12, two armoured personnel carriers of Givati's Dolev combat engineering battalion were destroyed by Palestinian militants. The two separate attacks, in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood and the Philadelphi Route near Rafah and the Egyptian border, claimed the...
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