Is war brewing with Gaza? Israeli tank. Illustrative. By Joshua Spurlock
The Gaza terrorist attacks on the border fence with Israel continued over the weekend, including the planting of a booby-trapped pair of wire cutters armed with an explosive device. The Israelis detonated the bomb on Sunday without any injuries to IDF soldiers, according to a Twitter post from the IDF Spokesperson. The tweet noted that an Israeli tank fired at a military observation post in Gaza in response.
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Ofir Gendelman, in his Twitter post on the incident, clarified that the targeted observation post belongs to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. Gendelman also highlighted the intent of the planted explosive device. “This booby-trapped wire cutter was placed by Palestinian terrorists on the Gaza-Israel border fence, in order to kill IDF soldiers on patrol,” he tweeted.
That isn’t the only anti-Israel violence around the Gaza border lately. One of the latest methods of attack have been kites set on fire with the intent to start wildfires in Israel. The Times of Israel, citing a report from Hadashot TV on Saturday, said that over the last month, 300 such kites have been launched at Israel. 100 fires have been started as a result.
Israel has also faced tens of thousands of Palestinian rioters near the Gaza border in recent weeks, some of which have attempted to breach the Israeli security fence as part of a broader campaign to target the border.
On Saturday, more Palestinians infiltrated Israel and “attempted to damage security infrastructure,” according to a series of tweets from the IDF Spokesperson.
The posts said that Israel responded to this incident and other sabotage efforts during the riots by striking military targets inside a Hamas compound. “The IDF views these ongoing attempts with great severity, specifically Hamas’ daily attempts to damage security infrastructure & threats to the safety of Israelis,” said the Twitter posts.
The IDF Spokesperson also reiterated that “the Hamas terror organization is responsible for all threats originating from the Gaza Strip, & will bear the consequences of its actions against Israeli civilians & Israeli sovereignty.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear in comments released by his office on Sunday that Israel would not “tolerate” Gaza attacks. Commenting on the Israeli response to an explosive device planted on the fence, he said that the air force struck “terrorist targets deep in the Gaza Strip.”
Said Netanyahu, “The IDF and the security forces are working around the clock to protect the State of Israel, Israeli citizens and Israel’s borders.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, May 27, 2018)