On Thursday evening, an IDF force working near a recently exposed terror tunnel along the border with Gaza was targeted by an explosive device set off by Palestinian terrorists. The IDF responded to the attack, killing a fighter in Hamas’ al Qassam Brigades, Reuters reported.
According to the IDF, five Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack. In addition to its immediate response, the IDF said it later struck a “terror tunnel located in the southern Gaza Strip.”
The IDF said it recorded a “direct hit.” Three fighters in Hamas al Qassam Brigades’ were killed in the strike, Reuters reported.
Hamas’ Qassam Brigades confirmed the death of four of its fighters – Rabea Baraka, Khaled Abu Baraka, Mohammed Dawoud, and Mohammed al Qasas – in statements on its official website.
The border clash, the most significant between the IDF and Hamas since Operation Pillar of Defense last November, comes a few days after Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired rockets and mortars toward Israel. In response to the rocket fire the IDF struck “two concealed rocket launchers.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Jerusalem Post quoted an IDF official as saying that Hamas did not seek to break the ceasefire instituted after Pillar of Defense from Gaza, but was willing to “extend a long arm” to the West Bank.
On Oct. 13, the IDF announced the discovery of a major terror tunnel originating in Gaza with at least one opening in Israel. A week after the tunnel was exposed, Hamas’ al Qassam Brigades took responsibility.
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