Israel Matzav

IDF thwarts terrorist infiltration, blocks terror tunnel

There's supposedly a 'cease fire' for five hours between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm on Thursday. but the IDF has already had a busy day. This morning, it stopped 13 terrorists trying to enter a kibbutz near the Gaza security fence via a terror tunnel underneath.

IDF forces identified approximately 13 terrorists attempting to infiltrate Israel through a terror tunnel constructed by Hamas. The tunnel led underground from the southern Gaza Strip towards the southern Israeli community of Sufa. ​

IDF forces thwarted an impending terror attack, preventing the terrorists from attacking an Israeli kibbutz. The foiled attack could have had deadly and devastating consequences if carried out. No injuries were reported to IDF soldiers.

Let's go to the videotape.



JPosArutt adds:

IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Moti Almoz said the military received an alert at 4 a.m. on Thursday, and that intelligence units detected an attempt by terrorists in Gaza to enter Israel through an underground tunnel.

"Units arrived at the area, and terrorists were apparently surprised. They began returning to the tunnel. The air force began attacking them from the air," Almoz said. "We understand there are casualties [among the terrorists]. The full picture is not yet known," he added.

"This is another successful thwarting of a Hamas attack planned for the southern area. We are ready for these scenarios in the coming days," the IDF spokesman said.

The terrorists, who emerged on the Israeli side of the Gaza tunnel planned to either kidnap an Israeli or go on a killing spree in the Kibbutz Sufa area, Almoz said. "This is a significant success by us. Had we not succeeded, we would have woken up to 13 terrorists in a kibbutz," he added.

Arutz Sheva adds:

IDF soldiers attacked the group. Several fatalities were reported. The tunnel has been destroyed, as well. No IDF soldiers were injured.

An IDF spokesperson said that the terrorists were nabbed as they emerged from the tunnel.

The IDF had prior knowledge that the terror attempt would take place, and was ready for the group. The group was heavily armed, and had they gotten past IDF patrols, would have been able to commit a major terror attack, killing many people and nabbing hostages, the spokesperson told Israel Radio.

Last week, the IDF struck several terror tunnels in Gaza, stating that the move prevented a steady stream of terrorists into Israel. Shortly before the tunnel was destroyed, one senior IDF official spoke about the discovery to Arutz Sheva on condition of anonymity. "We recently found a significant terror tunnel leading out of Gaza, which we are gathering intelligence about to prevent further terror attacks and to prevent [the tunnel] from being used [again]," the official said.

 That wasn't all that happened this morning either. See the next post

Labels: Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Operation Protective Edge, Palestinian terrorists, terror tunnels

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:46 AM