Armed Palestinians reach 12 miles into Israel from Gaza; IDF arrests 3

The IDF arrested three Palestinians armed with knives and grenades who infiltrated Israel from Gaza.

By: World Israel News Staff

IDF forces on Tuesday arrested three armed Palestinians who infiltrated into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

During a routine patrol of the southern Gaza border fence, soldiers detected footprints leading from the Strip 20 kilometers into Israel. Additional security forces were alerted, while local residents were notified of the possible danger.

The IDF subsequently arrested three Palestinians armed with knives and grenades near the Tse’elim IDF base, some 20 km. from (12.5 miles) the border.

There were no injuries.

IDF: A ‘very serious’ incident

The Israeli military stated that it has launched an inquiry into the incident, calling it “very serious.” They will examine how the terrorists managed to scale the border obstacles and managed to get deep into Israeli territory.

This latest incident occurred as tensions on the border with Gaza are running high.

IDF tanks shelled and destroyed two Hamas observations posts at the Gaza border Sunday night in response to heavy machine gun fire discharged by Hamas during military maneuvers in the Strip, which set off rocket alarms in the south of the country.

Israel’s Air Force (IAF) on Saturday night targeted a Hamas terror target in a military compound in Rafah, southern Gaza, in response to a cross-border provocation earlier in the day.

Four Gazans cut through the security fence between Israel and Gaza in an attempt to damage an engineering vehicle involved in the construction of the anti-terror tunnel underground barrier.

Similarly, there were several recent attempts by Gaza terrorists to deploy and detonate explosive devices against IDF forces in the area.

This coming Friday, Hamas plans to lead a mass march on Israel’s border, an incident Israel fears could lead to casualties.