Israeli military. Photo: IDF
Late on August 17, the Israeli military foiled an attempt by a group of Palestinian gunmen to cross the separation fence around the Gaza Strip.
“We just identified a number of armed suspects from Gaza approaching the security fence with Israel. We fired towards them,” the Israeli military said on Twitter.
Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said that a battle tank and an attack helicopter targeted the group eliminating all of its members.
Anna Ahronheim, a journalist of the Jerusalem Post, said that the gunmen, numbered five, were all members of the Islamic Jihad Movement and the Hamas Movement.
Wow. According to some reports this was a combined #Hamas-PIJ attack. The militants supposedly crossed into #Israel by a cross-border tunnel from #Gaza
— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) August 17, 2019
The failed infiltration coincided with the launch of three rockets from the Gaza Strip at the nearby Israeli settlements. The Israeli military said that the Iron Dome system intercepted two of the rockets.
According to the Times of Israel, fragments from one of the rockets struck the yard of a home in the town of Sderot, causing material damage only.
This was the second rocket attack in the last 48 hours. Israel responded to the first attack by destroying a position of the Hamas Movement east of the Gaza Strip.
The situation in Gaza is apparently heading towards another military confrontation between Israel and Palestinian factions. The Israeli military may launch another wave of airstrikes on the Palestinian region very soon.
