Israel bombs Hamas target, responding to cross-border provocation

Israel bombed a Hamas target over the weekend, responding to an attempt to thwart construction of an IDF barrier against terror tunnels.

By: World Israel News Staff

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 at damaging an engineering vehicle involved in the construction of the anti-terror tunnel underground barrier.

As IDF forces approached, they fled back into the Gaza Strip. No significant damage was caused to the equipment.

Palestinian sources report that the bombing caused damage, but no casualties.

Video footage filmed by al-Jazeera shows the group cutting the security fence. Four masked Palestinian men were running towards the engineering equipment, which was unattended over the weekend, carrying fuel cans. Smoke was seen rising from the site, and shortly afterwards, the four fled back to Gaza.

“The IDF will continue to thwart all attempts to harm the State of Israel and will respond severely against those who wish to harm Israeli civilians,” an IDF spokesman stated after the bombing in Gaza, stressing that “Hamas is held responsible for all aggression coming from the Gaza Strip.”

The incident occurred as tensions on the border are high, just days before Hamas plans to lead a mass march on Israel’s border and after several recent attempts by Gaza terrorists to deploy and detonate explosive devices against IDF forces in the area.