Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Sunday that the military operation in the Gaza Strip has not ended despite a recent withdrawal.

"The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not halted its battle in the Gaza Strip," Mofaz told a weekly cabinet meeting, adding that the IDF troops are ready for an immediate re-entry into the areas from which they have pulled back if there are any attempt of rocket attack.

The IDF ended the two-week Operation Days of Penitence on Friday night, withdrawing troops from the towns of Jabalya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.

But some troops have been redeployed along hilltops in the area.

Meanwhile, the IDF troops raided the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip Sunday morning, in what the army said was a mission to locate tunnels used to smuggle weapons over the border from Egypt.

Some 10 tanks and three bulldozers were seen entering the area, witnesses said.

Two Palestinians were wounded, one seriously, during the operation, according to Palestinian sources.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2004)