Israeli troops yesterday arrested the commander of Hamas’s military wing in Hebron, Imad Kawasmeh, the man responsible for sending two suicide bombers to Beersheba two months ago. The bombers blew up two buses almost simultaneously and killed 17 Israelis.

Security forces are placing a high value on Mr. Kawasmeh’s capture.

Acting on intelligence information, Egoz and Nahal units surrounded a Hebron building Mr. Kawasmeh was hiding in on Tuesday night and were told by locals that there was nobody inside. Troops were not convinced and Israeli Defense Force bulldozers began demolishing the building, at which stage Mr. Kawasmeh walked out waving a white flag.

That he was taken alive could help Israel against the Hebron infrastructure, security officials said. Israel had difficulty penetrating the Hebron infrastructure, which was considered extremely secretive and lethal.

Mr. Kawasmeh has been on the wanted list for several years.

After Mr. Kawasmeh’s surrender, troops searched the building and found a weapons cache inside.

According to Israel Radio, Israeli security forces, including the army, Shin Bet, and police, refocused their efforts with special emphasis on Hebron several months ago.

The defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, called Mr. Kawasmeh “a mass murderer” and welcomed his capture.

“Imad Kawasmeh, the head of the Hamas in Hebron, was captured in a high-quality operation by the security forces. Imad Kawasmeh is a mass murderer whose hands are drenched in the blood of many Israelis. He was responsible for the last attack in Beersheba. It was his infrastructure and his orders which sent the bombers,” Mr. Mofaz said during a tour of IDF bases.

“I am very hopeful that this arrest will lead to a serious blow on the terrorist infrastructure in Hebron and the minimizing of the number of attacks emanating from that area,” Mr. Mofaz added.

The Hamas Hebron infrastructure under Mr. Kawasmeh’s command has been involved in numerous shooting attacks on Israeli drivers near Beit Hagai in the Hebron hills, the double suicide bomb attack in Beersheba in August, and a number of suicide bomb attacks in Jerusalem, including the bus bomb outside the Clal Center and the bombing of Egged bus no. 2.

Separately, a Hamas commander was killed in an IAF strike in the Gaza Strip yesterday morning as IDF troops moved deep into the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya.

Three Palestinian Arab terrorists were wounded in the strike, which hit a house in Beit Lahiya, according to Palestinian Arab witnesses. A short while later, an IAF aircraft fired on a crowd, killing two terrorists from Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. A third gunman was critically wounded. Six bystanders were also lightly wounded in the attack.

As the IDF’s Operation Days of Repentance in north Gaza entered its third week, a Qassam rocket fired from the Jabalya refugee camp in north Gaza exploded in an open field near the southern town of Sderot yesterday morning. No injuries or damages were reported.

The early warning system against Qassams, which was set up in Sderot Tuesday, proved to be functional as “Red Dawn” sounded across the town 15 seconds before the rocket landed, giving residents time to either rush indoors or crouch.

Givati units, backed by armored and engineering units and helicopter support, entered Beit Lahiya and set up positions. At the town’s entrance soldiers encountered resistance as Palestinian Arabs detonated bombs and fired antitank rockets. Givati Brigade commander Colonel Eyal Eizenberg said some shots were fired from a local mosque.

An IDF officer said the IDF decided to enter Beit Lahiya in order to step up pressure on gunmen and Qassam firing cells in the Jabalya refugee camp in the framework of the ongoing operation to bring about a halt to Qassam rocket attacks on Israeli communities.

Military officials said that the reason for expanding the operation in north Gaza is due to the achievements gained in the past two weeks in Beit Hanoun and Jebalya – where there have been a significant decrease in the number of Qassam rockets fired.

Elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, shots were fired at an IDF post near Neveh Dekalim. In the West Bank, sappers blew up a grenade found together with 10 Kalashnikov bullets by soldiers operating in Dir Asana north west of Ramallah. The army said soldiers arrested a number of suspects. Security forces also arrested two fugitives in Jenin.

In Jelaboun, east of Jenin, security forces demolished the home of Iyad Mohammed el-Roub, the dispatcher of the suicide bomber who blew up at Sde Trumot in June last year killing an Israeli civilian.

Separately, with Ramadan about to begin, the internal security minister, Gideon Ezra, said yesterday that police will limit the number of worshipers at the Temple Mount to 60,000, warning of a potential disaster if part of the compound collapses under a larger number of visitors.