IDF tank shells Islamic Jihad post, killing 3, after attempted bombing

The IDF shelled an Islamic Jihad post, eliminating three terrorists, in response to a boobytrap designed to kill IDF soldiers that was placed along the border fence by the terrorist group.

By: AP and Israel World News Staff

Palestinians said an Israeli artillery strike Sunday morning killed two Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza.

The IDF said a tank fired on an observation post in response to a bomb placed along the border fence separating Gaza from Israel that was aimed at killing patrolling IDF soldiers.

Palestinian media reported three fatalities east of the city of Rafiah.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shihab suggested the three killed were members of the organization. He said of Israel’s shelling that the group “will not abandon our right to respond to Israel’s dangerous escalation and we know what to do to remind Zionist terrorism that the blood of our people is not cheap.”

Gaza terrorists regularly plant explosives near the border, occasionally harming Israeli soldiers. On Saturday, four terrorists briefly infiltrated Israel and set a fire.

The IDF said an improvised explosive device, disguised to look like a set of bolt cutters, was planted along the Gaza security fence. In order to neutralize it, the army used a robot to detonate the explosive under controlled conditions.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad post that was targeted in the tank strike overlooked the portion of the fence where the IED had been planted.

This exchange comes the morning after the air force struck targets in southern Gaza after four Palestinian suspects who breached the security fence threw a firebomb at IDF soldiers.