IDF: We stopped 3 Gazan infiltrators armed with knives

While the IDF has an extensive security barrier with the Gaza Strip, infiltration attempts by Gazans are not uncommon.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

In a chaotic day for Israeli security forces, Saturday saw the IDF detain four infiltrators from the Gaza Strip in two separate incidents as well as a massive gun smuggling bust on the country’s northern border.

The IDF announced on Saturday that it arrested three men overnight who had tried to cross into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.

The thwarted infiltration attempt may have been a prelude to a terrorist attack, as the men were armed with knives.

“A number of knives were seized from the suspects and they are being questioned at the scene,” read a tweet from the IDF’s official Twitter account.

Military officials did not elaborate on whether the men were immediately returned to Gaza or taken for further questioning.

In a separate incident on Saturday, a lone man was spotted by the IDF after successfully crossing from Gaza into Israel. IDF soldiers detained the man, who was found to be unarmed.

Also on Saturday, during a joint operation with the IDF, a Special Forces unit of the Israeli police seized 43 guns and ammunition from smugglers operating on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

The arms have an estimated street value of some 2.7 million shekels ($823,000), making it the biggest bust of its kind in recent memory.

While the IDF has an extensive security barrier with the Gaza Strip, infiltration attempts by Gazans are not uncommon.

Just days after the end of May 2021’s Operation Guardian of the Walls and a ceasefire agreement was agreed upon by Israel and Gaza-based terror groups, a Gazan man crossed into Israel and stabbed a security guard.

According to Hebrew-language media, the man utilized a hole in the border fence that had been created by a mortar shell fired from Gaza.

After crossing into Israel, the 24-year-old made his way to the border community of Sde Avraham, where he stabbed a local security guard.

Another security guard shot the Gazan man. Both men survived and were taken to the hospital.

The assailant is now in an Israeli prison awaiting trial.