The Israeli military said on Saturday that a “large-scale terror attack” was thwarted as troops killed four Palestinians who attempted to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip, armed with AK-47 rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades, hunting knives and bolt cutters. The IDF released a number of photos of the seized weapons.
The military said in a statement that the incident began at 4:00 a.m. Saturday as lookout troops spotted four figures heading toward the border fence “in military formation” from the direction of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Forces from the IDF’s Golani Brigade were alerted of the infiltration attempt and made their way to the area, the IDF said.
The four Gazans were killed by Israeli soldiers who “opened fire once one of the terrorists scaled the fence,” the military said in an initial statement, adding that a hand grenade was launched at the troops during the clash but none of the soldiers were injured.
AFP earlier reported that an army spokeswoman told the French news agency that troops “opened fire after one of the terrorists scaled the barrier and hurled a grenade at the soldiers.”
“One of the terrorists crossed into our territory and was shot, and three were killed along the concrete barrier at point-blank range,” the IDF added later Saturday. An IDF tank also fired a cannon shot into the vicinity of the infiltration attempt. READ MORE
