Islamic Jihad says Israel’s latest terrorist intercept means war

Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip issued threats following Israel’s successful effort to stop three armed terrorists from crossing the border.

By World Israel News Staff

Terror organization Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad issued threatening statements condemning Israel following the IDF’s successful interception of four armed terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Israel from a northern section of the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Channel 12 reports on Sunday.

Their warnings could be a sign of further escalation as the number of attacks by armed terrorists has increased. On August 10, Israel stopped a similar infiltration from the Gaza Strip involving three heavily armed terrorists.

Hamas spokesman Abd Latif al-Qanou said, “The occupation continues to use extreme force and it commits crimes against the Palestinian people and youth in the siege of Gaza, occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank.”

“The force of the anger and the pressure will explode in the face of the occupation if the Gaza blockade isn’t lifted,” he added.

“We consider the Zionist regime responsible for all crimes against our people. The silence of the international community encourages the occupation to continue the siege of the Gaza Strip and commit other crimes.”

Islamic Jihad also responded, saying Israel’s actions were a “declaration of war.”

Israel eliminated the four terrorists (original reports said there were three) after an IDF lookout post spotted them attempting to cross the border. An Israeli helicopter and tank fired toward the terrorists, killing them.

Also, three rockets were fired from Gaza with one being intercepted above the town of Sderot, which had enjoyed a period of relative calm for the past month. One of the rockets fell into a resident’s yard. No one was hurt in that instance.

Six Israelis were injured lightly, most while running to shelter when the red alert was sounded, warning of incoming missiles. Residents have only 15 seconds to get to shelter from the moment the siren sounds until the rocket impacts.

One of those injured was a 76-year-old woman.